Brooks House
Newtown Heritage Walk No. 16
The Newtown Commons was designed to be land shared by everyone in the Borough and Township. Unfortunately, because no one owned the land, no one took care of it. It appears that some people simply moved onto the land, built a house and lived there. As early as 1715, people in Newtown petitioned the County Court to appoint Trustees to manage the land. In 1796, the Commons was divided into lots and put up for sale. Most of the lots were sold by 1826.
The lot containing the property at 221 North Sycamore Street was sold to William Brooks in April 1824. In the deed, Brooks is described as one “who appears to be legally possessed thereof.” From records, it is reasoned that Brooks had lived on the land and probably paid rent to the Trustees before he actually purchased it. The Brooks family lived on this property until 1858. The building located on this site has been restored and is now the site of Carriage House Collection.
One of the last members of the Brooks family who owned this property was George Brooks who also owned the Livery Stable on Centre Avenue. George Brooks sold his livery stable to James Cornell, who continued the business into the 1900s, and is shown at left.
Marker is on Sycamore Street, on the right when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
