Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Brookfield

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
B+History
History · Brookfield

Brookfield dates to 1893, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 67% of U.S. towns · #279 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Grossdale Station. Below: maps from 1891 on and the census since 1900.

1893founded
1on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Brookfield began

When was Brookfield founded?

1893

Brookfield dates its founding to 1893 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 1,111 in 19002020 census: 19,476133 years

How historic is Brookfield?

B+

More historic than 67% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1892.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Brookfield’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Brookfield is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #279 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Brookfield’s overall grade.
Founding era1893, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194032.1% of homes (±3.7) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register1 listing, 0.5 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 67%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 64%

Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Brookfield’s 0.5 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 points). Two sources give 1893.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Brookfield’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Brookfield are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18918 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1993. Watch Brookfield change.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Brookfield, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Brookfield’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Brookfield’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Brookfield’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Brookfield on the map, 1891 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Brookfield. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Brookfield on the 1891 USGS mapBrookfield on the 1900 USGS mapBrookfield on the 1928 USGS mapBrookfield on the 1953 USGS mapBrookfield on the 1963 USGS mapBrookfield on the 1972 USGS mapBrookfield on the 1980 USGS mapBrookfield on the 1993 USGS map1891Riverside sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Brookfield.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Brookfield’s post office has been open since 1906. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Grossdale
1892–1906
Hollywood
1895–1949
Congress Park
1899–1943
Brookfield
1906–today
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East Grossdale

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Brookfield came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Brookfield.

Read it all →

Settlement of the village dates to 1889 when Samuel Eberly Gross, a Chicago lawyer turned real estate investor, began selling building lots plotted from farms and woodlands he had acquired along both sides of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad line, which provided passenger and freight service between Chicago and Aurora, Illinois. "Grossdale", as his development was originally called, offered suburban living at prices affordable to working-class families.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Brookfield, 1891 to 1949

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1892Post officeThe Grossdale post office opens
  4. 1893
    FoundingBrookfield is established
  5. 1895Post officeThe Hollywood post office opens
  6. 1899Post officeThe Congress Park post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1906Post officeThe Grossdale post office closes
  9. 1921Born hereLou Saban is born here
  10. 1932Born hereMichael Colgrass is born here
  11. 1938Born hereDennis McDonald is born here
  12. 1943Post officeThe Congress Park post office closes
  13. 1946Born hereTom Kondla is born here
  14. 1949Post officeThe Hollywood post office closes
By decade

Brookfield, decade by decade

Today11 recent
La Grange Park and2019La Grange Park andSalt Creek Bridge2018Salt Creek BridgeCock Robin Sign2018Cock Robin SignBronze Bell2018Bronze BellA Cool Bird2017A Cool Bird19680704 01 HStJ 35 Riverside, IL201319680704 01 HStJ 35 Riverside, ILGreetings from Brookfield, Illinois - Large Letter Postcard2012Greetings from Brookfield, Illinois - Large Letter Po…DocumentMossy Polar Bear2010Mossy Polar BearCow on Roof - panoramio - vx7002009Cow on Roof - panoramio - vx700Brookfield IL 2009 reference map2009Brookfield IL 2009 reference mapMapDolphin Show 12008Dolphin Show 1
On the National Register

1 historic place in Brookfield

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Grossdale Station
Grossdale Station
Buildings
Grossdale StationBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Brookfield, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 20,429

Between 1,111 and 20,429 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Brookfield’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Brookfield

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
M
Michael ColgrassCanadian musician and composer · b. 1932
L
Lou SabanAmerican football player and coach · b. 1921
T
Tom KondlaAmerican basketball player · b. 1946
Dennis McDonaldAmerican politician · b. 1938
G
George MarshMedal of Honor recipient
M
Michelle MorganAmerican sports administrator · b. 1983
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Lyons2 historic placesALa Grange ParkIts storyC+Riverside6 historic placesA−North RiversideIts storyCRiverside Township5 historic placesA−Lyons Township10 historic placesA

Questions about Brookfield’s history

What year was Brookfield founded?

In 1893, according to Wikidata. Brookfield’s post office opened in 1892, and the census of 1900 counted 1,111 people here.

How does Brookfield rank for history?

Brookfield is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #279 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Brookfield?

One place: the Grossdale Station (listed 1982).

How old are the homes in Brookfield?

32% of Brookfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1953.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.