Brooklyn's economic base is supported mostly by local business and traffic from M-50 and M-124 which join just to the south. Brooklyn was first settled in 1832 by the Rev. Calvin H Swain, a Baptist minister who moved there from Washington County, New York. He built a sawmill, and called it Swainsville. The name was changed to Brooklyn, after Brooklyn, New York, by popular vote in 1836. It was officially recognized as a village in 1879.
Brooklyn boasts a wide variety of shopping opportunities, including antique and specialty shops. Michigan International Speedway -- which hosts NASCAR Nextel Cup races on June 17 and August 19 and an IndyCar Series race on August 5 -- is located only two miles south of the village on US-12 in the Irish Hills.