Wakefield Police Department
2017 Wakefield Road, Wakefield, NH  03872
 Office: 603-522-3232 Dispatch: 603-539-2285
Fax: 603-522-8481 Emergency: 911
Chief Kenneth G. Fifield

History of Wakefield

Granted in 1774 and situated halfway between Boston & The White Mountains, Wakefield, New Hampshire is the Geographic Center of New England. When the railroad arrived around 1871, the center of Wakefield shifted from Wakefield Corner to Sanbornville, which today remains the bustling retail district of town. Settled by colonists from Dover and Somersworth, the town was granted in 1749 by the Masonian Proprietors. It was called East Town before being incorporated as Wakefield in 1774 by Governor John Wentworth. Wakefield, in Yorkshire, England, is near Wentworth Castle, the home of the Wentworth ancestors. It developed as an important sledge and stage stop between the seacoast and the White Mountains.

Five named villages are within the town limits: Sanbornville, Wakefield village proper, East Wakefield, North Wakefield and Union. Sanbornville, the primary settlement in the town, lies at the west end of Lovell Lake, next to the lake's outlet. The village is at the intersection of New Hampshire Routes 109 and 153. Route 16 bypasses the village to the west. Wakefield village occupies a hill just north of Sanbornville on Route 153. The village of Union occupies the southernmost corner of the town, at the intersection of Route 153 and Route 16 (at the northern end of the Spaulding Turnpike). East Wakefield is on Route 153, containing the land east of Pine River Pond and north to the Effingham town line. North Wakefield lies along Route 16 on the west side of Pine River Pond near the town line with Ossipee. 
 History of Brookfield

Brookfield began as part of Middleton, NH, which was granted by the Masonian proprietors on April 27, 1749, to Ebenezer Varney and others.  The Charter was renewed on March 21, 1770, and Middleton was incorporated on March 4th, 1778.  The inhabitants of the north or second division of Middleton attempted to incorporate as a separate township in 1785 without success. Finally, by act of the legislature, the town of Brookfield was incorporated on 30 December, 1794.  In 1840, Brookfield became part of Carroll County, and Middleton stayed part of Strafford County. The county and town boundary line zig-zags through the Moose Mountains, separating the two towns.