[4] In 2019, its population was 16,938, making it the second largest city in Greene County in the U.S. state of Missouri.

[5] It is also the fourth largest city in the Springfield, Missouri, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Early settlement in southwest Greene County centered on the community of Little York.

When the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad built a line through the area in the early 1870s, Little York was not on the route.

[6] Another group of settlers decided to take up residency at another area along the tracks just four miles southwest of Brookline.

Originally, Brookline was to retain its own identity, but the city limit signs have since been changed to Republic's.

The City of Republic will work with the United States Postal Service to help preserve the history and operation of the Brookline Station Post Office.

[6]While the Village of Brookline no longer exists as an independent, incorporated community, the post office and associated ZIP Code of 65619 remain in operation.

[9] In addition, BNSF Railway continues to designate Brookline as a station point on its network map and system timetables.

The 2020 United States census[13] counted 18,750 people, 6,594 households, and 4,620 families in Republic.

The railroad's Cherokee Subdivision runs through the community on its route between Tulsa, Oklahoma and Memphis, Tennessee.

When combined with other subdivisions, this route makes up an important corridor linking California with Birmingham and Atlanta.

[17] Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut were slated for removal in deference to a complaint by a local resident, a professor at Missouri State University whose own children are homeschooled.

The resident claimed the contents of the book are profane and violate the teachings of the Bible.

[18][19] Ozarks Technical Community College opened its Republic Center in August 2020.

The center serves as a satellite campus offering multiple degree programs to Republic and the surrounding communities.