Updated March 30, 2022 — Is it a school or an education building? Keene School is currently a home, but it started out life as a one-room schoolhouse.

Take a peek inside via this Zillow link.

Auctioned in 2009, materials provided then stated it was built in 1898.

But it may have been built in the 1910s or 1920s, according to evidence cited in a Sept. 17, 2017  Columbia Historic Preservation Commission written by Deb Sheals. The report states, “The design and construction methods are more typical of rural schools built in the 1910s or early 1920s than those of the late 19th century… In the early 1900s, the Missouri state superintendent of schools began to advocate for well-designed school buildings and even hired an architect to develop standardized plans that could be used by rural school districts. The present Keene School building utilizes several design elements advocated by experts in the field, including a more complex plan and grouped windows placed high in the walls to minimize glare.”

The report does agree with the 2009 auction materials in that the school featured a classroom, coatroom and kitchen downstairs and living space for the teacher on the second floor, including a living room and two bedrooms.

The building was used as a school until 1953 for grades 1-8.

Coverage from Sept. 29, 2009 updated June 12, 2015, states it was built on two acres donated by Alfred Keene, an area farmer whose brother owned a brick plant in Columbia.

The owners of the building are listed as John and Rose Marie Long in 1967, Robert and Georgia Follis from 1972-1973, then Wilson and Ella Turner. In 1978 Paul Nettleton bought it. In 1995, John and Sally Blass bought it and began remodeling it. Roberta Mullen bought it in 1999 and in 2002, Mary and Daniel Lee bought it.

When it was auctioned, it was described as a 3-bedroom, 2-1/2 bath home with 1,660 square feet.

The building was named to Columbia’s Notable Properties list in 2004.