Brookfield is a
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
in
Madison County,
New York, United States. The population was 2,247 at the 2020 census,
down from 2,545 in
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
.
The town is located in the southeastern part of Madison County. The county agricultural fair is held here every year.
History
The town was first settled ''circa'' 1791.
The Town of Brookfield was established in 1795 from part of the town of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, but part was removed in 1805 to form the town of
Columbus, all this taking place while it was still part of
Chenango County.
Geography
The town occupies the southeast corner of Madison County. The northern town line is the border of
Oneida County, and the southern town boundary is the border of Chenango County. The eastern town line is the border of
Otsego County.
New York State Route 8 runs along the eastern edge of the town, leading north into
Bridgewater and south to
New Berlin.
New York State Route 12 crosses the northwestern part of Brookfield, leading north to
Waterville and southwest to
Sherburne.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the town of Brookfield has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.25%, water.
The
Unadilla River forms the eastern border of the town, and the majority of the town is drained by its tributaries, including
Beaver Creek, which flows southward through the hamlets of
Brookfield and
South Brookfield. The
Sangerfield River, a tributary of the
Chenango River
The Chenango River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in central New York in the United States. It drains a dissec ...
, crosses the northwestern corner of the town, and the western part of the town is drained by tributaries of Handsome Brook, a separate tributary of the Chenango.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 2,403 people, 877 households, and 658 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,041 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.29%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.54%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.25%
Native American, 0.37%
Asian, 0.04% from
other races, and 0.50% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 0.33% of the population.
There were 877 households, out of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.5% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 20.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.7% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $31,000 and the median income for a family was $35,000. Males had a median income of $26,462 versus $19,226 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the town was $13,719. About 10.4% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 19.4% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
*
Myrtilla Miner, educator and abolitionist; born near Brookfield
*
John Palmer Usher (1816–1889), Secretary of the Interior under the Lincoln Administration; born in Brookfield
*
William R. Williams (1884–1972), US congressman
Communities and locations in Brookfield
*
Brookfield – The
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
of Brookfield is in the eastern part of the town.
*
Button Falls – A waterfall located southwest of Leonardsville on
Button Creek
*Guideboard – A hamlet west of Brookfield village on Route 80.
*
Leonardsville – A hamlet near the eastern town line.
*Marsh Corners – A location in the southwestern part of the town.
*Moscow Hill – A hamlet in the western part of the town on Route 95.
*
North Brookfield – A hamlet in the northwestern part of the town.
*River Forks – A location in the northeastern corner of the town.
*
South Brookfield – A hamlet in the southeastern corner of the town.
*West Brookfield – A hamlet north of Moscow Hill, near the western town line.
*
West Edmeston – A hamlet on the eastern town line, mostly situated in the
town of Edmeston.
*
Brookfield Speedway – Located on the Madison County Fairgrounds
Education
* Brookfield has one school, the Brookfield Central School, and it instructs grades K-12.
* The Brookfield Central School mascot is the
beaver
Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...
.
* The 1982-1983 Brookfield Central School boys varsity basketball team won the Section III tournament and went on to win the New York State Championship in the Class D division.
References
External links
*
Early history of Brookfield
{{authority control
Syracuse metropolitan area
Populated places established in 1791
Towns in Madison County, New York
Towns in New York (state)
1791 establishments in New York (state)