Wilmot Wood Brookings (October 23, 1830 – June 13, 1905) was an American pioneer, frontier judge, and early South Dakotan politician.

He married Clara Carney of Dresden, Maine, and went on to teach at Litchfield, North Anson, and Wiscasset before being admitted to the bar in May 1857.

Brookings made it safely to Yankton, but his wet legs had suffered such severe frostbite they both needed to be amputated.

He spent the rest of his life using a pair of squeaky, wooden legs that caused him discomfort and sometimes made walking difficult.

In 1864 he served as territory speaker of the house and was appointed superintendent of the U.S. Military Wagon Road from Minnesota to Montana in 1865.

Brookings died riding a streetcar in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 13, 1905, while on a return trip from visiting his hometown in Woolwich, Maine.