In Tolkien's world of Middle- Earth in The Lord of the Rings, Bree is a town of both men and hobbits, and was the principal settlement of Bree- land. Men, sometime before the foundation of Arnor in 3320, first founded it in the Second age but the Hobbits did not appear there until around TA 1300. In the glory days of Arnor, Bree was a very important town, due to its location at the crossing of the Great East Road and the North Road, but by the time of The War of the Ring it had dwindled considerably. Bree's famous and ancient pub, The Prancing Pony, was still a very important source of news. However I believe that Bree must have flourished once more during the Fourth Age.
It was here that the Hobbits, Merry, Pippin, Frodo and Sam sought refuge, eventually resting at the Prancing Pony at night, and it is here that they first met Aragorn. Their ponies were frightened off by the Nazgul at night, and the hobbits were nearly assassinated by The Nine had they had not moved, thanks to Aragorn. A very jolly, forgetful chap, named Barliman Butterbur, ran the pub. Sauron and Saruman both had spies in Bree, collecting news and serving their dark masters.
Bree was built against Bree Hill. The side that was not facing the Hill was surrounded by a hedge and a dike. There were two gates in this wall for the entrance and exit of the Great East Road. At the time of The War of the Ring there were about 100 stone houses in Bree in which men lived and several smaller ones in which the Hobbits lived.