When the Brookfield Warriors took the field Friday night, there was something different about their jerseys.

Across the front, instead of the familiar Brookfield, was one word:

Masury.

For some fans, the change sparked a question: Why Masury?

The answer is bigger than football. It is a story about community, history and the generations of families who have called this part of Brookfield Township home.

One Team. One Community. A Proud History.

Masury is an unincorporated community located within Brookfield Township, and for generations, students from Masury have been an important part of Brookfield Local Schools.

Today, many Warriors who walk the halls of Brookfield Local Schools, compete on its athletic teams and wear blue and gold proudly call Masury home.

Friday night's jerseys were an opportunity to recognize that connection and a community whose history stretches back more than a century.

Masury's story took shape during Brookfield Township's transformation from an agricultural community into an industrial one. Coal mining began developing in the area during the 1800s, but one of the biggest changes came in the early 1900s.

In 1903, industrialist Frederick L.M. Masury selected an area in southeastern Brookfield Township for a manufacturing complex that produced explosives used by the coal industry.

The operation brought workers and families to the area. Homes were constructed near the factory, a neighborhood grew around it, and the community eventually became known as Masury.

Although the original manufacturing operation was gone by the mid-1910s, the name remained.

And more than 100 years later, it still does.

Masury's Connection to Brookfield Schools

The connection between Masury and Brookfield Local Schools is just as deep.

As Brookfield Township's population grew through mining and industry, neighborhood schools served children throughout the township. Masury was home to schools including Addison School, built in 1923, Curtis School and Stevenson School.

Over time, Brookfield's educational system changed. Small neighborhood schools gave way to larger district buildings as students from throughout Brookfield Township were brought together under one school system.

That evolution eventually led to the Brookfield Local Schools campus students know today.

Following voter approval of a bond issue in 2007, the district replaced its aging buildings with a new, consolidated school complex. 

That means every day when students from across Brookfield Township arrive at school, they are continuing a story that connects Brookfield and Masury.

Wearing Their Community With Pride

Warrior football has always been about more than what happens between the sidelines.

Friday night's Masury jerseys represented the neighborhoods, families and generations that have helped build Brookfield Local Schools and Warrior athletics.

For students from Masury, it was an opportunity to see the name of their community represented under the Friday night lights.

For everyone else, it was an opportunity to learn a little more about an important part of the community they share.

The name on the jersey may have been different Friday night, but the players wearing it were still Warriors.

Masury is part of Brookfield Township. Masury is part of Brookfield Local Schools. And Masury is part of Warrior history.

On Friday night, Our Football program simply put that history across its chest.