West Brookfield is a town in Worcester County,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, United States. The population was 3,833 at the 2020 census.

Lucy Stone Lucy Stone (August 13, 1818 – October 18, 1893) was an American orator, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist and Suffrage, suffragist who was a vocal advocate for and organizer of promoting Women's rights, rights for women. In 1847, ...

was born in West Brookfield, and George and Charles Merriam, the publishers of ''

Webster's Dictionary ''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the US English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by Noah Webster (1758–1843), a US lexicographer, as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's n ...

'', were raised there.

History

West Brookfield was first settled by Europeans in 1665 and was officially incorporated in 1848, splitting off from Brookfield, which was originally settled as part of the Quaboag Plantation. The town is believed to be the birthplace of asparagus in the New World. Diederik Leertouwer came to the United States in 1784 to promote trade between the Netherlands and New England. He later settled with his wife and daughter in West Brookfield where he carried out his duties as Consul and lived here between the years 1794 and 1798. At that time West Brookfield had a population greater than

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

and was being considered for the county seat. Local legend has it that Diederik Leertouwer imported asparagus from his homeland and was the first to plant it in this area. This fact was forgotten until it was discovered in an old cookbook. Wild asparagus still grows in this area today. Leertouwer died here and is buried in the Old Indian Cemetery on Cottage Street in West Brookfield. The town is also home to the Rock House Reservation, a massive, cave-like rock shelter, exposed after the glacial retreat 10,000 years ago, that served as a winter camp for Native Americans. By the mid-1800s, it was part of a farm owned by William Adams whose descendant, F. A. Carter, dammed a small stream to create Carter Pond and built the cottage now serving as a trailside museum and nature center. The reservation is open year-round, daily, sunrise to sunset. Admission is free to all.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 3.03%, is water. West Brookfield is bounded on the southeast by Brookfield, on the north by North Brookfield and New Braintree, on the west by

Ware WARE (1250 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Ware, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Springfield radio market. The station is currently owned by Success Signal Broadcasting ...

and on the southwest by Warren. Route 9 is the main route in town. Other routes include Route 67, Route 19 (which begins in West Brookfield), and Route 32.

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 3,804 people, 1,362 households, and 965 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,534 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.16%

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 ...

, 0.32%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.24% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.16% from other races, and 0.84% 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 1.05% of the population. There were 1,362 households, out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% 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, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.01. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 20.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $49,722, and the median income for a family was $58,750. Males had a median income of $41,211 versus $29,783 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 $21,501. About 4.0% of families and 6.8% 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 9.9% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Library

The Merriam-Gilbert Public Library was built in 1880 when Charles Merriam (born in West Brookfield in 1806), famous for publishing the first Webster's Dictionary, provided the funding for the structure. After seven months of construction, the building was dedicated as the Merriam Public Library and Reading Room. The Library was eventually re-dedicated in 1960 as the Merriam-Gilbert Public Library after it received an unexpected and generous bequest from Helen E. Gilbert, a former West Brookfield native. The exterior of the Library remains relatively unchanged with the exception of a cupola, which was destroyed in the Hurricane of 1938. Also, an elevator tower was discreetly added during the 1997 building renovation project that both refurbished and made the building accessible to the handicapped. The following includes the names of those who have served as Head Librarian (Director) throughout the Library's history: Thomas S. Knowlton, 1880–1894; Charlotte E. Wilbur, 1895–1899; Florence A. Johnson, 1900–1906; Mary P. Foster, 1907–1916; Helen P. Shackley, 1916–1948; Evelyn Hazen, 1948–1951; Freeda E. Huyck, 1951–1953; Doris Jones, 1954–1955; Mildred B. Grazier, 1956–1960; Isabel Smith, 1960–1965; Joanne Scobie, 1965–1967; Roberta M. Rhodes, 1967–1987; Mary Hulser, 1987–1997; Michael J. Bennett, 1997–1999; Louise Garwood (Interim), 1999–2000; Elizabeth Zemelka, 2000–2001; Lisa M. Careau, 2001–2011; Carrie Grimshaw, 2011–2015; Katie Marsh, 2015–2017; MaryAnne Pelletier, 2017-2024; Amy Agro, 2024-present. In fiscal year 2008, the town of West Brookfield spent 3.11% ($167,532) of its budget on its public library—approximately $44 per person, per year ($57.98 adjusted for inflation to 2022).July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008; cf. The FY2008 Municipal Pie: What's Your Share? Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Board of Library Commissioners. Boston: 2009. Available
Municipal Pie Reports
. Retrieved August 4, 2010

Education

There is one public school in West Brookfield, West Brookfield Elementary School, serving grades K–6. West Brookfield is regionalized with Warren; students in grades 7–12 from both towns attend Quaboag Regional Middle/High School in Warren.

Notable people

* Daniel Henry Chamberlain, 76th Governor of South Carolina * Doug McMurdy, Springfield Indians hockey player, Red Tilson Trophy winner * George Merrick Rice, businessman and Massachusetts state senator *

, prominent American

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

Sam Cunningham Founding Compass broker

References

External links

Town of West Brookfield official website
{{authority control Towns in Worcester County, Massachusetts Towns in Massachusetts 1664 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony