Settled beginning in 1791, the town of Brookfield was established in 1795. It is the southeast corner town of the county of Madison and bounded north by Oneida county, east by the towns of Edmeston and Plainfield, south by Columbus, and west by Hamilton and Madison. Brookfield encompasses the hamlets of North Brookfield, South Brookfield and Leonardsville.
Its surface is hilly and rugged, with soil principally of gravelly loam, well adapted to grazing; in the valleys is found a rich alluvium. Hops were raised in large quantities in years past in the northwest part of the town. There are abundant springs throughout the town and the Unadilla River forms the eastern boundary and receives numerous tributaries, the principal one of which is Beaver Creek which flows south through the central part of Brookfield, along a beautiful valley and furnished many mill sites. The east branch of the Chenango crosses the northwest part, rising in the so-called Terrytown swamp, which covers a considerable area in that part and takes its name from the Terry family. Gorton Lake, a small body of water in the north part, takes its name from the Gorton family of settlers.
The Brookfield Agricultural Society was incorporated in 1849. Annual fairs were at first held on the land owned by F. M. Spooner, and later on a tract just north of the village. In 1884 the society purchased the present grounds comprising about seventeen acres, erected good buildings and constructed a race track. The Madison County Fair is the oldest fair in NY State.
The Brookfield Trail system is a highly acclaimed 130-mile horse and snowmobile trail system which traverses over 13,000 acres of the Beaver Creek, Brookfield Railroad and Charles E. Baker State Forests. These forests were purchased by the state in the 1930’s as part of NY’s State Reforestation Project.
Brookfield remains true to its history as a rural town whose primary occupation is agriculture. It is 78
square miles in size with a 2010 population of 2926 people. Dairy farming is the largest sector, followed by beef farm, horse farms and specialty farms.
Its surface is hilly and rugged, with soil principally of gravelly loam, well adapted to grazing; in the valleys is found a rich alluvium. Hops were raised in large quantities in years past in the northwest part of the town. There are abundant springs throughout the town and the Unadilla River forms the eastern boundary and receives numerous tributaries, the principal one of which is Beaver Creek which flows south through the central part of Brookfield, along a beautiful valley and furnished many mill sites. The east branch of the Chenango crosses the northwest part, rising in the so-called Terrytown swamp, which covers a considerable area in that part and takes its name from the Terry family. Gorton Lake, a small body of water in the north part, takes its name from the Gorton family of settlers.
The Brookfield Agricultural Society was incorporated in 1849. Annual fairs were at first held on the land owned by F. M. Spooner, and later on a tract just north of the village. In 1884 the society purchased the present grounds comprising about seventeen acres, erected good buildings and constructed a race track. The Madison County Fair is the oldest fair in NY State.
The Brookfield Trail system is a highly acclaimed 130-mile horse and snowmobile trail system which traverses over 13,000 acres of the Beaver Creek, Brookfield Railroad and Charles E. Baker State Forests. These forests were purchased by the state in the 1930’s as part of NY’s State Reforestation Project.
Brookfield remains true to its history as a rural town whose primary occupation is agriculture. It is 78
square miles in size with a 2010 population of 2926 people. Dairy farming is the largest sector, followed by beef farm, horse farms and specialty farms.