Brooklyn is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,450 at the 2020 census. The town center village is listed by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place. The district of East Brooklyn is listed as a separate census-designated place. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it (0.58%) is water. History Brooklyn was settled in the late 17th century and incorporated as its own town in 1786. It is named for the Quinebaug River, or Brook Line, which forms its eastern boundary. Brooklyn was originally land of the Wabaquasset. It was incorporated as a town separate from Canterbury and Pomfret in May 1786. It is home to the Brooklyn Fair, America's oldest continuously operating agricultural fair, as well as the Brooklyn Correctional Institution, a state-run medium security prison. Brooklyn held the 1833 trial of Prudence Crandall, a schoolteacher charged with the crime of educating black female students in nearby Canterbury. Brooklyn is the final resting place of Revolutionary War General Israel Putnam. Though he was originally buried in an above ground tomb in Brooklyn's South Cemetery, his remains had to be moved due to excessive visitors. In 1888, a statue of Putnam mounted on a horse was erected, and his sarcophagus placed in the foundation. The statue stands slightly south of the town green, in front of the post office. Brooklyn is also home of the Middle School Bobcats and Elementary School Bears. The town historical society operates the Brooklyn Historical Society Museum, which includes the Daniel Putnam Tyler Law Office. Villages Allen Hill Barrett Hill Brooklyn Center Bush Hill East Brooklyn Stetson's Corners Tatnic Hill West Village West Wauregan On the National Register of Historic Places Brooklyn Green Historic District – (added October 23, 1982) Bush Hill Historic District – (added March 10, 1987). Putnam Farm – Spaulding Road (added April 11, 1982) Trinity Church – Church Street (added November 15, 1970) Unitarian Meetinghouse – (added December 9, 1972) Quinebaug Mill-Quebec Square Historic District – Roughly bounded by Quinebaug River, Quebec Square, Elm and South Main Streets (added August 29, 1985). Education Residents are served by the Brooklyn School District's Brooklyn Elementary School (K–4) and Brooklyn Middle School (5–8). Many Brooklyn high school students attend Woodstock Academy; Woodstock was designated as one of Brooklyn's high schools