Wilmot W. Brookings (1830-1905) was born in Woolwich October 23, 1830. After being admitted to the bar, the new lawyer moved to Sioux Falls in what was to become the Dakota Territory in 1861 (which included today’s North and South Dakota, and much of Wyoming and Montana), and then the state of South Dakota in 1889.
In the 1860s, Brookings was a member, then later president, of the Dakota Territorial Council. During the same period he was a member, then later Speaker, of the Dakota Territorial House of Representatives. He served as a justice of the territory Supreme Court. Finally, he was a delegate to the South Dakota state constitutional convention in 1883 and 1885.
In addition to his public service, he owned a newspaper and was associated with the South Dakota Railroad. As Zac McDorr notes, “Unfortunately Brookings chose to visit Woolwich one last time in 1905. On his way home, he died in a streetcar accident in Boston.”
Additional resources
Gray, David P. “Dakota Territory.” Guide to North Dakota State Archives, 1985. http://www.history.nd.gov/archives/stateagencies/dtrecords.html (accessed December 12, 2017)
McDorr, Zac. “Woolwich roots of South Dakota’s first ‘governor'”. Coastal Journal. October 12, 2017. p. 22. http://www.coastaljournal.com/2017/10/10/woolwich-roots-south-dakotas-first-governor/ (accessed December 12, 2017)
The Political Graveyard. “Brookings, Wilmot W.” http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bronstein-brookover.html (accessed December 12, 2017)
“A Spirited Pioneer Promoter.” South Dakota Magazine. January 15, 2013. http://www.southdakotamagazine.com/wilmot-brookings (accessed December 12, 2017)