East Brookfield

History

East Brookfield was first settled by Europeans in 1664 as part of the Quaboag Plantation lands. It became part of the new town of Brookfield in 1673, and was officially incorporated as a separate town in on March 24, 1920, making it the newest town (by date of incorporation) in Massachusetts.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 5.11%, is water. East Brookfield is bordered on the north by North Brookfield, on the west by Brookfield, on the south by Sturbridge and Charlton, and on the east by Spencer. Most community life in East Brookfield centers around Route 9, particularly the stretch closest to Lake Lashaway, on the road from Spencer to North Brookfield. Within a block of this stretch are found all of the town's churches, its school and former schools, most of its retail businesses and its current and former municipal office buildings. The latter is on Depot Square, a triangular crossroads near the post office and Redmans Hall, the site of the Senior Center and some town meetings. West of the town center is the Quaboag River plains, known locally as "the Flats". The CSX Boston-to-Selkirk rail line runs parallel to Main Street through this section. North of Main Street is the town's main water body, Lake Lashaway. Southwest of the town center are the Quaboag and Quacumquasit Ponds (also known as North and South ponds). On Quacumquasit Pond is a YMCA residential summer camp, Camp Frank A. Day. Bordering the ponds, in the geographic center of town, is a sparsely populated marshland. South of the marshes is sparsely populated woodland, formerly a village called Podunk—today marked only by a small cemetery along Podunk Road near the Sturbridge town line—and a hilly area called High Rocks. During his youth, the vaudeville entertainer George M. Cohan spent his summers with his relatives in Podunk. He loved East Brookfield, and made the term "Podunk" famous, describing it in his comedy acts. Other entertainers started mentioning Podunk, and the word entered the language, standing for any…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  12,343
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,265
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  10,561
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,480
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  10,345
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,765
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,838
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  8,832

Largest nearby schools

• South High Community
  High · Worcester · 1,666 students · 16.7:1 ratio
• Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School
  High · Charlton · 1,185 students · 10.2:1 ratio
• Burgess Elementary
  Elementary · Sturbridge · 877 students · 12:1 ratio
• Sullivan Middle
  Middle · Worcester · 827 students · 12:1 ratio
• Tantasqua Regional Sr High
  High · Fiskdale · 677 students · 9.4:1 ratio
• Auburn Middle
  Middle · Auburn · 652 students · 14.2:1 ratio
• Charlton Middle School
  Middle · Charlton · 592 students · 12.6:1 ratio
• Tantasqua Regional Jr High
  Middle · Fiskdale · 551 students · 11.7:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2015-01-13
  2 km E of Wauregan, Connecticut
• M 3.3 — 2015-01-12
  0 km NE of Wauregan, Connecticut
• M 2.5 — 2007-10-19
  2 km WSW of Littleton Common, Massachusetts
• M 2.8 — 2002-09-28
  2 km N of Wilton, New Hampshire
• M 2.5 — 2002-06-07
  3 km NNW of Hopedale, Massachusetts