B rookline's beginnings were rural; its land was originally parceled out to citizens of Boston as allotment farmlands in the 1630's. As allotment holders found it convenient to live close to their crops and livestock, a settlement grew up around the "Muddy River Hamlet". By the end of the seventeenth century, its inhabitants had built a school house, laid out three major roads, obtained exemption from paying taxes to Boston, and were petitioning the Massachusetts General Court for independence