History of Brookfield, Connecticut
Encyclopedia
The History of Brookfield, Connecticut extends back roughly three centuries.
, it was inhabited by the Wyantenuck and Paugusset Native Americans, members of the Algonquin
Federation. According to early deeds for property on both sides of the Still River, "Sachem Pokono" the son of Sachem Waramaug who met the first settlers to Brookfield in 1710 (or "Pocono") led the local Indians for many years. Indian relics are still found in Brookfield.
At one time, the "Indian Tree", a wild cherry tree on Route 133 was said to be the spot where local Indians would meet. Area names that come from the local Indians include Lake Waramaug (for a chief or " Sachem" in Algonquin ). Lillinonah was the name of his daughter. Pocono Road was named for Chief Pocono.
In the 18th century the community was called "Newbury," a name that came from the three towns from which its land was taken – New Milford, Newtown, and Danbury.
Because it was difficult for community residents to get to one of the distant churches in those towns in winter, in 1752 the General Assembly gave the community the right to have worship in area homes from September through March. In 1754, the General Assembly granted permission for the Parish of Newbury to build its own meeting house and get its own minister. On September 28, 1757, the first Congregational Church building was dedicated. The Reverend Thomas Brooks was ordained as the first settled minister. In 1787, when the town was incorporated, it changed its name to Brookfield in honor of Brooks, who was still the minister.
Along the Still River mills were in operation as early as 1732 in an area that became known as the Iron Works District. Brookfield was a thriving town with iron furnaces, grist mills, sawmills, comb shops, carding and cotton mills, a paper mill, a knife factory, hat factories, stage-coach shops, lime kilns, harness shops and other plants operated there. The grist mill (now the Brookfield Craft Center
) still stands. The Iron Works Aqueduct Company, formed in 1837 to supply water from mountain springs to the Iron Works District, still supplies water as the Brookfield Water Company.
Before 1912 the town had two train stations: one in the Iron Works District, near the present Brookfield Market and, second, Junction Station, near the corner of Junction Road and Stony Hill Road. Young people used the train to attend high school in Danbury.
The first Town Hall (first called the "Town House" was built in 1794 across from the meetinghouse (Congregational Church). Town business was conducted there until a new Town Hall was built in 1876 at a cost of $4,000. In 1975 the Town Hall was again moved to new quarters and the Brookfield Museum and Historical Society leased the structure.
Danbury & Bethel Gas and Electric Company brought electricity to Brookfield in 1915.
After Candlewood Lake
was created, parts of the town of New Fairfield
were left on the Brookfield side of the lake. So in 1961 Candlewood Shores, Hickory Hills, Candlewood Orchards, Arrowhead Point and the land that became Brookfield Town Park all became a part of Brookfield.
In 1955, the 14-mile-long Lake Lillinonah was created when the Shepaug Dam was built.
The .475 Wildey Magnum
gun, later made famous in the 1985 Charles Bronson
movie Death Wish 3
, was developed by Wildey J. Moore in Brookfield in the early 1970s (the factory has since moved to Warren, Connecticut
).
In the early 1970s, the town was home to LEGO USA headquarters.
In 1991 most buildings in Brookfield Center’s Historic District were named to the National Register of Historic Places.
When Mary Northrop died on June 29, 1794, she left her entire estate to the town on condition it be used for public education with interest on the estate to be paid out each year to support education. Her will, dated April 13, 1793, stated: "I give and bequeath unto the Town of Brookfield all my monies, Notes, or Bonds or Book Debts or Lands or Chattels or any interest that shall be found belonging to me after my decease, for use of a school, to be kept in the center of town [...] the interest of the money to be paid yearly for the support of the school after a reasonable time to settle the estate in." She apparently could not read herself and signed the will with an "X", her mark.
The town received 138 pounds, 11 shillings and nine pence from the estate in 1794. Northrop was called "Molly", and the fund became known by 1804 as the "Molly Fund", a name that has stuck to this day. Since Northrop's will stated the money should be used in the center of town, the fund was used to pay the singing master in the town’s Sing School, which was located there.
The Long Meadow Hill School was built in 1959 and later became Brookfield High School, which graduated its first class in 1967.
| Historical population of Brookfieldhttp://www.sots.ct.gov/RegisterManual/SectionVII/SecVIITOC.htm |
|
| 1790 | 1,018 |
| 1800 | 1,010 |
| 1810 | 1,037 |
| 1820 | 1,159 |
| 1830 | 1,255 |
| 1840 | 1,255 |
| 1850 | 1,359 |
| 1860 | 1,224 |
| 1870 | 1,923 |
| 1880 | 1,152 |
| 1890 | 989 |
| 1900 | 1,046 |
| 1910 | 1,101 |
| 1920 | 896 |
| 1930 | 926 |
| 1940 | 1,345 |
| 1950 | 1,688 |
| 1960 | 3,405 |
| 1970 | 9,688 |
| 1980 | 12,872 |
| 1990 | 14,113 |
| 2000 | 15,664 |
To 1800
Before the English settled the area that became Brookfield, ConnecticutBrookfield, Connecticut
Brookfield is a town located in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 16,452 at the 2010 census. First settled in 1710 by John Muirwood and several other colonial founders who bartered for the land From the Wyantenuck Nation Under the Sachem Waramaugs who lived...
, it was inhabited by the Wyantenuck and Paugusset Native Americans, members of the Algonquin
Algonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...
Federation. According to early deeds for property on both sides of the Still River, "Sachem Pokono" the son of Sachem Waramaug who met the first settlers to Brookfield in 1710 (or "Pocono") led the local Indians for many years. Indian relics are still found in Brookfield.
At one time, the "Indian Tree", a wild cherry tree on Route 133 was said to be the spot where local Indians would meet. Area names that come from the local Indians include Lake Waramaug (for a chief or " Sachem" in Algonquin ). Lillinonah was the name of his daughter. Pocono Road was named for Chief Pocono.
In the 18th century the community was called "Newbury," a name that came from the three towns from which its land was taken – New Milford, Newtown, and Danbury.
Because it was difficult for community residents to get to one of the distant churches in those towns in winter, in 1752 the General Assembly gave the community the right to have worship in area homes from September through March. In 1754, the General Assembly granted permission for the Parish of Newbury to build its own meeting house and get its own minister. On September 28, 1757, the first Congregational Church building was dedicated. The Reverend Thomas Brooks was ordained as the first settled minister. In 1787, when the town was incorporated, it changed its name to Brookfield in honor of Brooks, who was still the minister.
Along the Still River mills were in operation as early as 1732 in an area that became known as the Iron Works District. Brookfield was a thriving town with iron furnaces, grist mills, sawmills, comb shops, carding and cotton mills, a paper mill, a knife factory, hat factories, stage-coach shops, lime kilns, harness shops and other plants operated there. The grist mill (now the Brookfield Craft Center
Brookfield Craft Center
Brookfield Craft Center, located in Brookfield, Connecticut, is a 501 not-for-profit organization, founded in 1954 with the mission "to teach and preserve the skills of fine craftsmanship and enable creativity and personal growth through craft education."...
) still stands. The Iron Works Aqueduct Company, formed in 1837 to supply water from mountain springs to the Iron Works District, still supplies water as the Brookfield Water Company.
Nineteenth and twentieth centuries
Town resident Susan Sherman wrote a diary in 1850–1851 now available online at a Web site of the University of Pennsylvania. The diary mentions frequent trips to Hartford, Danbury, and New Haven; embroidering and quilting; her own engagement and a description of her wedding. One section has recipes (mostly desserts).Before 1912 the town had two train stations: one in the Iron Works District, near the present Brookfield Market and, second, Junction Station, near the corner of Junction Road and Stony Hill Road. Young people used the train to attend high school in Danbury.
The first Town Hall (first called the "Town House" was built in 1794 across from the meetinghouse (Congregational Church). Town business was conducted there until a new Town Hall was built in 1876 at a cost of $4,000. In 1975 the Town Hall was again moved to new quarters and the Brookfield Museum and Historical Society leased the structure.
Danbury & Bethel Gas and Electric Company brought electricity to Brookfield in 1915.
After Candlewood Lake
Candlewood Lake
Candlewood Lake, 8.4 sq mi , is located in Fairfield and Litchfield counties of western Connecticut, in the northeastern United States. It is the largest lake in Connecticut...
was created, parts of the town of New Fairfield
New Fairfield, Connecticut
New Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 13,881 at the 2010 census. The town is considered part of the greater New York Metropolitan Area and lies approximately from New York City...
were left on the Brookfield side of the lake. So in 1961 Candlewood Shores, Hickory Hills, Candlewood Orchards, Arrowhead Point and the land that became Brookfield Town Park all became a part of Brookfield.
In 1955, the 14-mile-long Lake Lillinonah was created when the Shepaug Dam was built.
The .475 Wildey Magnum
.475 Wildey Magnum
The .475 Wildey Magnum is a semi-automatic pistol cartridge designed for big game hunting in the Wildey pistol.-History:The .475 Wildey Magnum was designed to be a hunting round. Cases are formed from .284 Winchester brass with the neck opened to take a .475" bullet, length is the same as the .45...
gun, later made famous in the 1985 Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
movie Death Wish 3
Death Wish 3
Death Wish 3 is a 1985 action film starring Charles Bronson as vigilante killer Paul Kersey and is the second sequel to the 1974 film Death Wish. It was written by Don Jakoby...
, was developed by Wildey J. Moore in Brookfield in the early 1970s (the factory has since moved to Warren, Connecticut
Warren, Connecticut
Warren is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,254 at the 2000 census. The town was named for Revolutionary War General Joseph Warren....
).
In the early 1970s, the town was home to LEGO USA headquarters.
In 1991 most buildings in Brookfield Center’s Historic District were named to the National Register of Historic Places.
Brookfield schools
The original Center School building was erected in 1762 and later served as the Town Hall. (Now it is rented by the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials.) In 1788 the town of Brookfield was incorporated and by 1807 had eight school districts; Brookfield Center, Iron Works, Longmeadow, Whisconier, Obtuse, Bound Swamp, North Mountain, and South Mountain (Huckleberry Hill). In the 19th century, the town also had a private school for boys, as well as an internationally acclaimed music school.When Mary Northrop died on June 29, 1794, she left her entire estate to the town on condition it be used for public education with interest on the estate to be paid out each year to support education. Her will, dated April 13, 1793, stated: "I give and bequeath unto the Town of Brookfield all my monies, Notes, or Bonds or Book Debts or Lands or Chattels or any interest that shall be found belonging to me after my decease, for use of a school, to be kept in the center of town [...] the interest of the money to be paid yearly for the support of the school after a reasonable time to settle the estate in." She apparently could not read herself and signed the will with an "X", her mark.
The town received 138 pounds, 11 shillings and nine pence from the estate in 1794. Northrop was called "Molly", and the fund became known by 1804 as the "Molly Fund", a name that has stuck to this day. Since Northrop's will stated the money should be used in the center of town, the fund was used to pay the singing master in the town’s Sing School, which was located there.
The Long Meadow Hill School was built in 1959 and later became Brookfield High School, which graduated its first class in 1967.
Books about the history of Brookfield
- Whittlesey, Marilyn, Images of America, Brookfield a collection of images of Brookfield, 128 pages, Arcadia Publishing (1999), ISBN 0738501166 ISBN 978-0738501161
- Whittlesey, Marilyn, A look back: Brookfield, Connecticut Published by the Heritage Committee of the Brookfield, Connecticut Bicentennial Taskforce (1988) ASIN B00072DZLW
- Hawley, Emily Carrie, Annals of Brookfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut, 656 pages, Published by E.C. Hawley (1929) ASIN B0008CB93M ;
- republished by Higginson Book Company (1993) ASIN B0006RSF1I
- republished in a CD-ROM version: by Heritage Books in 2005, 713 pages, ISBN 0788429736