Editing Brookfield, New Hampshire (section)

==History==
Settled in 1726 by [[Ulster Scots people|Scots-Irish]] immigrants, the town was first named "[[Coleraine]]" after the Protestant-majority town of that name in [[County Londonderry]] in what has since become [[Northern Ireland]]. Fertile ground made it popular with farmers. It was later renamed "Brookfield", after [[Brookfield, Massachusetts]], and made a part of the town of [[Middleton, New Hampshire|Middleton]]. But in 1785 Brookfield petitioned, unsuccessfully, to be set off from Middleton. This was due to the division of the original town of Middleton into two parts by the long, high ridge of the Moose Mountains, then a considerable obstacle to travel. Town meetings, traditionally held in the muddy season of March, were particularly difficult to attend for those beyond the ridge. In 1794, however, permission was granted, and Brookfield incorporated. And in 1840, when Carroll County was set off from [[Strafford County, New Hampshire|Strafford County]], Brookfield went with Carroll, and Middleton remained with Strafford.<ref name=Coolidge>{{Cite book  | last = Coolidge  | first = Austin J.|author2=John B. Mansfield  | title = A History and Description of New England| publisher = A.J. Coolidge  | year = 1859| location = Boston, Massachusetts| page = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ/page/n468 430]| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.  }}</ref>

In 1874, the Wolfeborough Branch Railroad passed through this town.<ref>[http://gedcomindex.com/Reference/New_Hampshire_1875/078.html Article in ''Statistics and Gazetteer of New-Hampshire (1875)]</ref>