Brookfield (Wisconsin)

Brookfield is a city located in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It had a population of 37,920 in the 2010 census. Brookfield is the third largest city in Waukesha County.HistoryBrookfield is located west of Milwaukee in Waukesha County in an area originally inhabited by Potawatomi Indians. The first known white settler was Robert Curren who built the first log cabin in 1836. Farms dominated the landscape into the mid-20th century.The City of Brookfield was incorporated on August 14, 1954 from the Town of Brookfield, a portion of which still survives along the city's western edge.GeographyAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 27.59sqmi, of which 27.09sqmi is land and 0.50sqmi is water. The sub-continental divide passes through Brookfield; on the eastern side of this divide, easily marked by the crest at Calhoun Road and Capitol Drive, water flows to Lake Michigan on its way to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence; on the western side of this divide, water flows to the Fox River of Illinois and Wisconsin on its way to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.There is a heron rookery on a site northwest of Capitol Drive and Brookfield Road.