Brookline, Massachusetts

Brookline is a suburban town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, on the western edge of Boston. Brookline was first settled in 1638 as a hamlet in Boston and incorporated as a separate town in 1705. Once part of Algonquian territory, Brookline was first settled by Europeans in the early 17th century. The northern and southern borders of the town were marked by two small rivers or brooks, the origin of the town’s name.

The neighborhoods, squares, and other notable areas of Brookline include: Aspinwall Hill, Beaconsfield, Brookline Hills, Brookline Village, Buttonwood Village, Brookline High School, Near Pierce District, Chestnut Hill, Cleveland Circle, Coolidge Corner, Corey Farm, Corey Hill, Cottage Farm, Fisher Hill, Larz Anderson Park, North Brookline, “Pill Hill,” The Point, Putterham Circle, The Runkle District, South Brookline (“Sobro”), Saint Mary and Washington Square. There are many neighborhood associations, some of which overlap.

The birthplace of John F. Kennedy stands in Brookline and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is maintained by the National Park Service and open to the public four months of the year. Other points of interest include The Puppet Showplace Theatre, one of the four oldest puppet theatres in the U.S., located in Brookline Village, and the John Goddard House, built in 1767 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.