Editing Brookfield, Vermont

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
<!-- Infobox begins. Additional parameter fields maybe available at Template:Infobox settlement -->
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Brookfield, Vermont
|other_name               =
|native_name              = <!-- for cities whose native name is not in English -->
|nickname                 =
|settlement_type          = Town
|motto                    =
|image_skyline            = BrookfieldVT OldTownHall.jpg
|imagesize                =
|image_caption            = Brookfield Old Town Hall
|image_flag               =
|flag_size                =
|image_seal               =
|seal_size                =
|image_shield             =
|shield_size              =
|image_blank_emblem       =
|blank_emblem_size        =
|image_map                = brookfield_vt_highlight.png
|mapsize                  = 200px
|map_caption              = Located in Orange County, Vermont
| pushpin_map             = United States
|pushpin_map_caption      = Location within the U.S.A.
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Vermont]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Vermont|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Orange County, Vermont|Orange]]
|subdivision_type3        =
|subdivision_name3        =
|subdivision_type4        =
|subdivision_name4        =
|parts_type               = Communities
|parts                    = [[Brookfield Village Historic District|Brookfield]]<br />Brookfield Center<br />East Brookfield<br />West Brookfield
|government_footnotes     =
|government_type          =
|leader_title             =
|leader_name              =
|leader_title1            = <!-- for places with, say, both a mayor and a city manager -->
|leader_name1             =
|leader_title2            =
|leader_name2             =
|leader_title3            =
|leader_name3             =
|leader_title4            =
|leader_name4             =
|established_title        = Chartered
|established_date         = 1781
|established_title2        = Settled
|established_date2         = 1779
|established_title3        = Organized
|established_date3         = 1785
|area_magnitude           =
|unit_pref                =  Imperial
|area_footnotes           =
|area_total_km2           = 107.9
|area_land_km2            = 107.2
|area_water_km2           = 0.7
|area_total_sq_mi         = 41.7
|area_land_sq_mi          = 41.4
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.3
|area_water_percent       =
|population_as_of         = 2020
|population_footnotes     =
|population_note          =
|population_total         = 1244
|population_density_km2   = 11.6
|population_density_sq_mi = 
|population_blank1_title          = Households
|population_blank1                = 	475
|population_blank2_title          = Families
|population_blank2                = 	351
|timezone                 = [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]]
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|coordinates              = {{coord|44|1|25|N|72|36|0|W|region:US-VT|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_footnotes      = <!--for references: use <ref> </ref> tags-->
|elevation_m              = 333
|elevation_ft             = 1325
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP Code]]s
|postal_code              = 05036 (Brookfield)<br/>05060 ([[Randolph, Vermont|Randolph]])<br/>05041 ([[East Randolph, Vermont|East Randolph]])<br/>05679 ([[Williamstown, Vermont|Williamstown]])
|area_code                = [[Area code 802|802]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 50-09325<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |accessdate=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 1462054<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|accessdate=January 31, 2008|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=October 25, 2007}}</ref>
|website                  = [http://www.brookfieldvt.org/ brookfieldvt.org]
|footnotes                =
}}
<!-- Infobox ends -->

'''Brookfield''' is a town in [[Orange County, Vermont|Orange County]], [[Vermont]], United States. It was created by Vermont charter on August 5, 1781. The population was 1,244 at the [[2020 United States Census|2020 census]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0600000US5001709325|access-date=December 28, 2021|title=Census - Geography Profile: Brookfield town, Orange County, Vermont}}</ref> Brookfield is best known for its [[Sunset Lake Floating Bridge|floating bridge which spans Sunset Lake]] buoyed by pontoons. The bridge, which is the only floating bridge east of the [[Mississippi River]], was originally built in 1820 by Luther Adams and his neighbors. Sunset Lake is also the site of an annual ice harvesting festival. Brookfield boasts that it has Vermont's oldest continually operating library dating back to 1791. In 2006, Brookfield was one of the first American towns to have its citizens pass a resolution [[movement to impeach George W. Bush|endorsing the impeachment of]] President [[George W. Bush]]. As of September 2010, the floating bridge was closed for repairs. Work began in 2014, and was completed May 2015. There was a celebration from May 23–24, 2015, to memorialize the event. Governor Peter Shumlin attended, and cadets from Norwich University provided traffic control.

The town's modest village center is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] as the [[Brookfield Village Historic District]].

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of 41.7&nbsp;square miles (107.9&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), of which 41.4&nbsp;square miles (107.2&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) is land and 0.3&nbsp;square mile (0.7&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) (0.65%) is water.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1790= 419
|1800= 988
|1810= 1384
|1820= 1507
|1830= 1677
|1840= 1789
|1850= 1672
|1860= 1521
|1870= 1269
|1880= 1239
|1890= 996
|1900= 996
|1910= 1008
|1920= 860
|1930= 761
|1940= 808
|1950= 762
|1960= 597
|1970= 606
|1980= 959
|1990= 1089
|2000= 1222
|2010= 1292
|2020= 1244
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html |title=U.S. Decennial Census |publisher=United States Census Bureau |accessdate=May 16, 2015 }}</ref>
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 1,222 people, 475 households, and 351 families residing in the town.  The [[population density]] was 29.5 people per square mile (11.4/km<sup>2</sup>).  There were 602 housing units at an average density of 14.5 per square mile (5.6/km<sup>2</sup>).  The racial makeup of the town was 97.63% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.16% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.16% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.98% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], and 1.06% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.08% of the population.

There were 475 households, out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.1% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 30.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.7 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $45,515, and the median income for a family was $51,071. Males had a median income of $34,464 versus $24,258 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $21,502.  About 2.5% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 6.9% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

==Notable people==

* [[Donald M. Hooper]], [[Secretary of State of Vermont]]<ref>*{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.state.vt.us/media/246655/A-259.pdf |title=Biography, Donald M. Hooper |website=Vermont State Archives |publisher=Vermont Secretary of State |location=Montpelier, VT |access-date=January 18, 2017}}</ref>
* [[Jay Hooper (politician)|Jay Hooper]], member of the [[Vermont House of Representatives]]<ref name="Freese">{{cite news |last=Freese |first=Alicia |date=November 30, 2016 |title=In With the New: Two College-to-Statehouse Reps Prepare to Serve  |url=https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/in-with-the-new-two-college-to-statehouse-reps-prepare-to-serve/Content?oid=3854770 |work=Seven Days |location=Burlington, VT}}</ref>
* [[Ben Jickling]], member of the Vermont House of Representatives<ref name="Freese"/>
* [[Edward Koren]], (1935 - April 14, 2023) Cartoonist, writer, illustrator
* [[George Washington Morse]], [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventist]] Pioneer<ref>{{cite book |last=Gomide |first=Jonathan |date=2020 |title=Morse, George Washington (1816–1909) |url=https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/assets/pdf/article-89TR.pdf |location=Silver Spring , MD |publisher= General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists |page=1}}</ref>
* [[Cassius Peck]], [[Union Army]] recipient of the [[Medal of Honor]], member of the [[Vermont Senate]] and Vermont House of Representatives<ref>{{cite book |last=Carleton |first=Hiram |date=1903 |title=Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EmbLSJZgij4C&pg=PA272 |location=New York, NY |publisher=Lewis Publishing Company |page=272 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
* [[Myron W. Reed]] (1836–1899), Congregationalist minister and political activist<ref>"Myron W. Reed is Dead," ''Chicago Chronicle,'' January 31, 1899, unspecified page. Copy preserved in ''The Papers of Eugene V. Debs, 1834-1945'' microfilm edition, reel 9.</ref>
* [[Orange Scott]] (1800–1847), Methodist reformer and abolitionist
* [[Ruel P. Tolman]] (1878–1954), painter, photographer, printmaker and curator

==References==

{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* http://www.virtualvermont.com/towns/brookfield.html
* {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130222143020/http://www.travel-vermont.net/2008/05/brookfield-and-its-floating-bridge/ Article title]}}

{{Orange County, Vermont}}
{{Geographic location
 | Northwest = [[Northfield, Vermont|Northfield]]
 | North = [[Williamstown, Vermont|Williamstown]]
 | Northeast = Washington
 | West =  Roxbury
 | Centre = Brookfield, Vermont
 | East =  Chelsea
 | Southwest = Braintree
 | South = Randolph
 | Southeast = Tunbridge
}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Brookfield, Vermont| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Vermont]]
[[Category:Towns in Orange County, Vermont]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1781]]