Page "Brookfield, Massachusetts" Paragraph 9

Across from the former Brookfield Inn on West Main Street ( Route 9 ) is a memorial that designates this part of the road as the George Washington Memorial Highway.

In 1789, the first president of the United States traveled through five of the New England states.

This tour has become the basis for all of the “ George Washington slept here ” claims — and although Washington watered his horses here, he never slept in Brookfield.

It seems his party would have spent the night in Brookfield except that the innkeeper, Mrs. Bannister, was in bed with a terrible headache.

When awakened, she mistook him for a college president and sent him on to the neighboring town of Spencer.

On learning of her mistake, she supposedly said: " Bless me!

One look at that good man would have cured my aching head .”