Dakota Territorial Governor. Born in Woolwich, Maine, he graduated from Bowdoin College in 1855. He began his career as a teacher and was later admitted to the Bar in 1857. Brookings moved to Sioux Falls, Minnesota Territory in 1857, where he helped organize the Minnehaha County government. He was then appointed as the District Attorney. A personal tragedy came in 1858. Brookings was riding in a blizzard from Sioux Falls to Yankton. The horse stumbled and fell into Split Rock Creek. Brookings struggled to reach Yankton; his wet legs had suffered such severe frostbite that they required amputation. He was eventually fitted with wooden legs, which caused him discomfort and made walking difficult. When Minnesota was admitted to the union in 1858, Sioux Falls remained part of the Dakota Territory. In this era there was not an "official" Dakota Territory. The residents of the Eastern Dakota region created an interim provisional government. Brookings served in the upper house of the Interim Territorial Legislature. The Legislature then appointed Brookings as Governor of the Dakota Territory. He served from 1859 until 1861. In 1861, the Federal Government finally responded to a three-year-old request from the residents of the Dakotas to help them create an official Territorial government. The Territory was made “official” but Congress refused to acknowledge either the Provisional Government or its Executive. Governor Brookings was replaced. Brookings was then elected to the Territorial Council, and later served three terms in the Territorial Legislature. In 1864 he served as Territorial Speaker of the House. Brookings again served on the Territorial Council from 1867 to 1869, becoming the Council President in 1868. In 1869 President Ulysses S. Grant appointed him Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Dakota Territory, and Brookings remained until 1873. He also served as a delegate to the South Dakota Constitutional Convention. In 1871 Brooking helped organize the Dakota Southern Railroad, which eventually merged into the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. In 1885 he purchased the “Sioux Falls Leader” newspaper, and worked as the editor. He was also involved in banking and finance. The residents of South Dakota had such respect for Judge Brookings that Brookings County, South Dakota and the cities of Brookings and Wilmot, South Dakota are all named in his honor. He died on June 13, 1905 in Boston, Massachusetts.