History

First settled by European colonists in the early 1600’s, Brookline was originally known as “Muddy River Hamlet.”  It was part of Boston until 1705, when the town of Brookline was independently incorporated. Its new name came from the brooks that separated the town from the adjoining areas of Brighton and Roxbury.

The early residents of Brookline were almost all farmers; the names of many of these families survive as street and neighborhood names, such as Heath, Winchester, Clark, Aspinwall, and Devotion. Later, wealthy merchants would purchase farmland to build summer homes, and Brookline developed from an agricultural community into a suburban residential area. Some of the many notable people born in Brookline are John F. and Robert F. Kennedy, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, and television personalities Mike Wallace, Barbara Walters, and Conan O’Brien.

The town has long been considered among the most desirable communities in Massachusetts because of its beauty, historic integrity, location and diversity.  Its original character can still be seen in its residential areas off the main thoroughfares and in its side streets and parks.