- Part of Brooklyn consisted of a ridge of hardwood that was home to many squirrels; for this reason, an early name for the area was “Squirreltown”.
- The name “Hardscratch Road” is credited to Dr. Ferrish, who would travel to Ohio via that road and had to do some “hardscratching” to make it.
History
Brooklyn, located several miles north-east of the town of Yarmouth, was first settled in the 1760s by Joseph Pitman of Massachusetts, who was given a land grant consisting of 1400 acres. Further settlement occurred in the 1800s with Loyalists from New Brunswick.
Brooklyn developed along with Yarmouth during the shipbuilding years, though it boasted other successful industries as well: lumbering at Churchill’s Mill, ice houses on Lily Lake that provided ice for families throughout Yarmouth, and farming. Churchill’s Mill also ground bone fertilizer and thrashed oats and barley and ground flour. A milk route was started by an enterprising resident that served over 200 customers.
Brooklyn’s first church was built near Prospect Street. The Baptist church opened in 1848, and a Methodist church was built in the late 1800s. The community had a Temperance Hall in its early years, as well as a “little red store” that also served as its Post Office.
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