The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Few records of the early history are available because the first books were destroyed by fire. Recorded history of Browns begins in 1880 when John Henderson and his wife Emma had the present site surveyed into blocks, streets, lots and alleys and named it "Frazier".
On May 7, 1892, a petition was filed asking that an election be held to incorporate the site as the village of Browns, apparently in honor of John L. Brown, a prominent citizen of that name. The election was held on May 24 of that year and carried narrowly, 31 to 27. In 1887, the new Browns community put in a serious bid to become the new County seat of Edwards County. The citizens of the existing county seat, Albion, hurriedly built a new courthouse to beat off the threat.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Start Browns’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Browns’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Browns, decade by decade
2000
Nothing in Browns is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Browns has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is St. Johns Episcopal Church in Albion, 4 miles away.
Browns and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.
Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (3). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.