Brookfield, Orange County, Vermont Genealogy

Brief History
Brookfield was chartered on August 5, 1781 by the Vermont State Legislature. Brookfield is best known for its 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.. The population was 1,292 at the 2010 census.

Cemeteries
The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day Brookfield. For location of cemeteries, see Cemeteries of Vermont, Orange County, website at this link.


 * Brookfield Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * East Brookfield Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * East Hill Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * West Brookfield Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.


 * Brookfield Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * Orange County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places

Church Records
Historically, the largest religious groups in Vermont were the Congregational, Baptist, Roman Catholic, and Methodist churches. For general information about Vermont denominations, view the New Hampshire Church Records wiki page. To see the churches in Brookfield, visit. Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. The following are church records available online for the town of Brookfield:

Land Records
The following are online land records for the town of Brookfield:

Libraries and Historical Societies
Brookfield Public Library 40 Ralph Rd Brookfield, VT 05036 Phone: (802) 276-3358 Email: brookfieldpl@vals.state.vt.us Website: http://brookfieldpubliclibrary.wordpress.com/

Brookfield Historical Society P.O. Box 447 Brookfield, VT 05036 Website: http://brookfieldhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com/

Maps
The following are online maps of the town of Brookfield:

1877 map of Brookfield

Newspapers
The Herald of Randolph

Probate Records
In Vermont, most probate records are kept at the town level. The following are online probate records for the town of Brookfield:

The probate district for Brookfield is Orange. Orange Probate Court 5 Court St Chelsea VT 05038 Phone: (802) 685-4610

Town Histories

 * The History of Brookfield, Vermont, by the Brookfield Historical Society (1988) - find this book in a library.
 * A little collection of pictures around and about Brookfield, Vermont: Vermont bicentennial, 1791-1991 - find this book in a library.

Town Records
In Vermont, most records are kept at the town level and generally began being kept at the founding of the town. These records may include the following: The following are Brookfield town records available online:

Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1910-1997, can be found on (browse only images).

Brookfield, land records, 1850-1916, can be found on (brouse only images).

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Brookfield Town Clerk's Office. These include Deeds, 1786-1850; index to deeds, 1786-1872, and Vital records, 1799-1997; indexes to vital records, 1796-1996; index to family records, 1779-1855.

Town Clerk
The town clerk is responsible for these records, and so most originals can be found at the town clerk's office.

Brookfield Town Clerk 40 Ralph Rd. Brookfield, VT 05036 Phone:(802) 276-3352 Email: btownhall@aol.com Website: http://www.brookfieldvt.org/

Vital Records
FamilySearch Historical Records Collection has Vermont birth, death, and marriage records online.