Brookfield

Sister cities

• Seligenstadt

History

Brookfield is west of Milwaukee in Waukesha County in an area originally inhabited by Potawatomi Indians. The first white settler, William Howe, arrived in 1820 with a Presidential Land Grant giving him title to the area. Soon after, Robert Curren bought a claim in 1836 and established a tavern and inn. By 1839, the population needed a schoolhouse, as the 1840 census showed a population of 148. In these 1840s, George Gebhardt started trading with the surrounding Potawatomi and Menominee neighbors. In 1843, Brookfield's first church, St. Dominic, was built by the Irish Catholic congregation. In 1848, the first telegraph lines were laid through Brookfield, towards Waukesha. Communication was made easier due to this. In 1849, cholera reached Brookfield, and one Laura Grover recalls, "The death-like stillness was appalling; nothing was seen but the death carts rolling round the streets gathering the recent dead... I believe there were fifty deaths from cholera that day." The same year, 64 Brookfield residents voted in favor of giving suffrage to black residents, and 0 the other way. In 1850, cholera again went through Brookfield, and according to one Earl Thayer, "The cholera returned... more terrible than the year before. People literally died walking along the streets. Official reports put the toll at over 300." In 1850, the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad (now the Canadian Pacific Rail) built a railroad through the town, which in 1853 erected a depot, forming the Brookfield Junction. In the year 1850, the Town of Brookfield had 1,944 inhabitants and in land area covered 36 square miles. The town slowly grew over following years, with the economy being mostly agricultural, with Brookfield Junction serving as a commercial center for the surrounding farms. In 1867, a…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and (1.32%) is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  44,060
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  43,640
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  39,823
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  36,716
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  35,719
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  34,025
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  30,861
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  30,457

Largest nearby schools

• Hamilton High
  High · Sussex · 1,562 students · 17.6:1 ratio
• Brookfield East High
  High · Brookfield · 1,362 students · 17:1 ratio
• Menomonee Falls High
  High · Menomonee Falls · 1,285 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• Brookfield Central High
  High · Brookfield · 1,192 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• New Berlin West Middle/High
  High · New Berlin · 1,047 students · 15.2:1 ratio
• Eisenhower Middle/High
  High · New Berlin · 1,029 students · 16.3:1 ratio
• North High
  High · Waukesha · 1,016 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• South High
  High · Waukesha · 890 students · 12.2:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2015-03-25
  3 km WNW of Lake in the Hills, Illinois