Brookline

A small community of about 2,900 residents, Brookline is located on the Massachusetts border, just west of Hollis. It is a town that has experienced much growth in recent years, but it remains a quaint, rural village.

About 8,000 of Brookline’s 13,000 acres remain undeveloped. This is despite a recent growth spurt that prompted the Planning Board to introduce an ordinance limiting the number of building permits given out each year. That ordinance has been in place since 1994 and will likely remain on the books as a way to help Brookline preserve its rural character.

Quiet country roads and homes tucked away on wooded lots define Brookline. It is this small-town appeal that has brought many new residents to the town in recent years. One result has been growing school enrollments, which have led to the expansion of Brookline Elementary School, the investigation of building a middle school in Brookline, and the construction of a new Hollis/Brookline High School.

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History

The town was established in 1769, carved out of several surrounding pieces of land.

The establishment of the Hollis Meetinghouse left residents in the western part of that town dissatisfied and petitioned to become a separate town. The new town, called Raby, was made up of the western part of Hollis, the Mile Slip (an unsurveyed piece between Brookline and Mason) and the part of Townsend, Mass., left in New Hampshire after the boundary was settled in 1741. Raby was named for a town in England where many of the residents’ ancestors had come from.

In 1786, because of its small size, Raby petitioned to be enlarged and a 3/4-mile piece of Hollis was added. The name was changed to Brookline in 1789.

Incorporated: 1769

Origin: First a part of Dunstable, then settled as West Hollis, the town was granted in 1769 as Raby. Governor John Wentworth named the town in honor of his cousin, fourth Earl of Strafford and Baron of Raby Castle, in County Durham, England. The town was renamed in 1798 at the suggestion of one of the town’s leading citizens, who hailed from Brookline, Massachusetts.

Population, Year of the First Census Taken: 338 residents in 1790

Population Trends: Brookline’s population grew over six times larger between 1950-2000, growing well above the average rate. Decennial growth rates ranged from an 18 percent increase between 1950-1960 to a 73 percent increase between 1990-2000, the fourth highest increase for that decade. Brookline’s population grew by a total of 3,510 residents, going from 671 in 1950 to 4,181 in 2000. The 2003 Census estimate for Brookline was 4,497 residents, which ranked 75th among New Hampshire’s incorporated cities and towns.

Population Density, 2003: 215.9 persons per square mile of land area. Brookline contains 19.9 square miles of land area and 0.3 square miles of inland water area.