Brookfield, Massachusetts
| Brookfield, Massachusetts | ||
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| Town | ||
Central Street in 1908
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 Location in Worcester County and the state of Massachusetts. |
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| Coordinates: 42°12′50″N 72°06′10″W / 42.21389°N 72.10278°WCoordinates: 42°12′50″N 72°06′10″W / 42.21389°N 72.10278°W | ||
| Country | United States | |
| State | Massachusetts | |
| County | Worcester | |
| Settled | 1660 | |
| Incorporated | 1718 | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | Open town meeting | |
| • Board of Selectmen | Stephen J. Comtois II Linda M. Lincoln Clarence R. Snyder III |
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| • Administrative Assistant | Karen Trainor Resseguie | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 16.6 sq mi (42.9 km2) | |
| • Land | 15.5 sq mi (40.2 km2) | |
| • Water | 1.1 sq mi (2.7 km2) | |
| Elevation | 714 ft (218 m) | |
| Population (2010) | ||
| • Total | 3,390 | |
| • Density | 218.7/sq mi (84.4/km2) | |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | |
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | |
| ZIP code | 01506 | |
| Area code(s) | 508 / 774 | |
| FIPS code | 25-09105 | |
| GNIS feature ID | 0618358 | |
| Website | www.brookfieldma.us | |
| County-level state agency heads | |
|---|---|
| Clerk of Courts: | Dennis P. McManus (D) |
| District Attorney: | Joseph D. Early, Jr. (D) |
| Register of Deeds: | Anthony J. Vigliotti (D) |
| Register of Probate: | Stephanie K. Fattman (R) |
| County Sheriff: | Lew Evangelidis (R) |
| State government | |
| State Representative(s): | Donnie Berthiaume (R) |
| State Senator(s): | Anne M. Gobi (D) |
| Governor's Councilor(s): | Jen Caissie (R) |
| Federal government | |
| U.S. Representative(s): | 1st District |
| U.S. Senators: | Elizabeth Warren (D), Ed Markey (D) |
Brookfield is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Brookfield was first settled in 1660. The population was 3,390 at the 2010 census.
Brookfield was first settled in 1660 and was officially incorporated in 1718. The town was settled by men from Ipswich as part of the Quaboag Plantation lands.
In August 1675, King Philip's War reached central Massachusetts. Brookfield, one of the most isolated settlements in the colony, was attacked by Nipmuck forces. After an ambush the town was besieged. For two days the townsfolk, consisting of 80 people, sought shelter in the garrison house while the rest of the town was completely destroyed. The settlement lay abandoned for twelve years.
During the winter of 1776, General Henry Knox passed through the town with cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to end the Siege of Boston. A marker along Route 9 commemorates his route.
In March 1778, Joshua Spooner, a wealthy farmer in Brookfield, was beaten to death and his body stuffed down a well. Four people were hanged for the crime: two British soldiers, a young Continental soldier, and Spooner's wife, Bathsheba, who was charged with instigating the murder. She was 32 years old and five months pregnant when executed. Newspapers described the case as "the most extraordinary crime ever perpetrated in New England."
Bathsheba was the mother of three young children, and in her own words felt "an utter aversion" for her husband, who was known to be an abusive drunk.
A year before the murder, she took in and nursed a sixteen-year-old Continental soldier who was returning from a year's enlistment under George Washington. The two became lovers and conceived a child.
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Wikipedia