Agnes Keith House

Agnes Keith House is a restored colonial wooden house museum on a hilltop along Jalan Istana in Sandakan, Sabah. It was the former residence of American author Agnes Newton Keith and her husband Harry Keith, Conservator of Forests of British North Borneo. Destroyed during World War II and rebuilt in 1946-1947, the house displays period furniture, personal belongings and exhibits on Keith's books and wartime experiences. It is managed by the Sabah Museum and forms part of the Sandakan Heritage Trail.

Visitors can explore a restored two-storey colonial wooden house on stilts set on a forested hilltop. The interior is furnished to reflect 1940s-1950s colonial life with original and replica furniture, photographs, books and exhibits about Agnes Keith's life and writings including Land Below the Wind and Three Came Home. Information panels explain the history of the house and Sandakan. The grounds offer views over Sandakan Bay and the town, with a small gallery and landscaped garden.

The original house was destroyed during World War II. The present timber house was rebuilt in 1946-1947 as government quarters for Harry G. Keith, Conservator of Forests and later Custodian of Enemy Property for British North Borneo, and his wife Agnes Newton Keith, American author known for Land Below the Wind (1939) and Three Came Home (1947). The house was restored in 2001-2004 by the Sabah Museum Department as a heritage house museum documenting colonial administration and wartime history in Sandakan.

The house preserves the literary legacy of Agnes Keith and illustrates colonial domestic life in British North Borneo. It is an important stop on the Sandakan Heritage Trail and represents post-war reconstruction heritage and Sabah's multicultural history.