Former Roundhouse, The Center at Colony Mill - Keene, NH
Posted by: 
NorStar
N 42° 55.877 W 072° 17.072
18T E 721585 N 4756761
This complex of buildings currently housing stores and businesses, was previously the railroad car repair shops, including a roundhouse.
Waymark Code: WMRC3C
Location: New Hampshire, United States
Date Posted: 06/06/2016
Views: 5
In Keene, along Gilboa Avenue, is The Center at Colony Mill, which previously was the repair shop for the Cheshire Railroad, which included a semi-circular portion that was the roundhouse.
The Center at Colony Mill is a collection of small shops in a complex of brick buildings. A portion of the complex is a linear row of buildings, slightly staggered, the west portion is in a half circle around a brick patio that has a pattern that radiates out from the central focus.
The building does suggest a roundhouse. The arched areas could have been bay openings - 19 I count. Unfortunately, much of the space appears to be empty at the time of visit. In front is a sign with a sculpture that looked like a locomotive suspended on the sign. The main part states, "The Center at Colony Mill."
While the plaza and the shape of the building suggests a roundhouse, evidence was hard to assemble. The best evidence are two portions of maps that show the outline of the complex and annotation. The first is from an 1892 atlas of New Hampshire (Keene, Ward 5), that showed the exact complex with the word, "round house" over the semi-circular part. Another map, from 1917, shows the same complex with the title, "Repair Shops."
I couldn't find direct evidence for the year built. A pdf of a 'Quest' (sort of a scavenger hunt-letterbox cross) stated that the buildings were built in 1868. I think the railroad that built it was the Cheshire Railroad, but eventually, it became under the ownership of the Boston & Maine Railroad.
Source:
Boston Public Library (Keene, NH 1917 Map):
(
visit link)
Horatio Colony Museum (Quest):
(
visit link)
Historic Map Works (Keene, Ward 5):
(
visit link)