| Artemus Brooks moved to Princeton in the early 1800’s and purchased property on Thompson Road, formerly owned by the Woodward family. He died in 1888 at the age of 77.
William S. Brooks was born there in 1846 at the Thompson Rd. home. In 1859, Artemus bought the farm on Worcester Road, formerly owned by the Watson family, which was built in approximately 1786. It was there that William married Sarah Fay. They had three children, Frank, Mary, and Wendell.
Mary Brooks married Dr. Hayden Stimson, who Artemus recruited to come to town to provide veterinary services for all Princeton farms. He and Mary lived with the Brooks operating his blacksmith shop out a small shed next to the main barn until they bought the house at the corner of Goodnow Road.
Frank Brooks installed internal phone systems in local homes, hotels, and at the farm. He also set-up a Blacksmith shop in our barn after Dr. Stimson moved out.
Wendell married Jennie Belle Chase from Belgrade, Me in 1905. She moved to Princeton to teach school in the library building and lived with the Mirick family on Prospect St.
They lived at the farm and had four children; Dorothy 1912, Mary 1914, William II 1919, and Elizabeth 1924. Artemus and Wendell ran the farm together, until Artemus died in 1927, at the age of 81. Wendell ran the farm until 1934, when he died at the age of 52 of a strep-throat infection that settled in his kidneys. The farm was heavily mortgaged, so the family had to move out, and the farm was sold and the property split up. It was never run as a farm again and the barn was torn down. At the time of Wendell's death, the farm consisted of 43 acres around the buildings, with four out-parcels of fields and four large parcels used for pastures; a 104 acre piece on Depot Road to right of Calamint Hill Road, a 24 acre piece on top of Calamint Hill and to the left, a 100 acre piece in Hubbardston on Gates Road just over the town line, and a 100 acre piece on Worcester Road between the present Light Dept. and the center of town. The total acreage came to about 600 acres. Within the center 43 acres was another barn, formerly part of the Hadley property, which was located on the left at the foot of Goddard’s hill on Worcester Rd., and it housed some 200 laying hens and usually 2 to 3 pigs. They also used the Goddard Farm, Hillside Farm, with its large barn to store hay and house the dry stock in the winter. There were many fields on the old farm that were also mowed for hay and to grow vegetables.
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