Brookston was founded in 1853 by Isaac Reynolds, Benjamin Gonzales, and Joel McFarland, and it was named for James Brooks, president of the New Albany & Salem Railroad Company. The depot across the railroad tracks was built in 1898 by the railroad company and stood there until about 1976, when it was removed because of its condition and because it was no longer needed. After President Abraham Lincoln's assassination in 1865, the bodies of Lincoln and his son Willie were carried by funeral train from Washington D.C. to Springfield, Illinois, a twenty-day journey at speeds between 5 and 10 miles per hour. The train left the capital on April 21, 1865, reached the Indiana State House on April 30, and after departing Indianapolis passed through Brookston at about 4:15 AM on May 1 on its way to Michigan City and then Chicago.