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History · Brownton

A history of Brownton,
then and now

Postcards, papers and photographs of Brownton from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.

5old images & papers
0recent photos
From Brownton’s archive · credits on each photo

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Brownton was platted in 1877 and named for Alonzo L. Brown, the original owner of the town site. A post office has been in operation at Brownton since 1878. Brownton was incorporated in 1886.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below
1940s5 items · Brownton, Minnesota. Twenty-year-old …LOC
1950–1999Nothing yet. Family albums go here.
Help out

Finish Brownton’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewBrownton, Minnesota. Twenty-year-…, 1942: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Brownton

See all 2 →
Carl Fredrick NeitzelCarl Fredrick NeitzelPolitics & LawVSVernon L. SommerdorfPolitics & Law
By decade

Brownton, decade by decade

1940s5 items
Brownton, Minnesota. Twenty-year-old farm boy registering for Selective ServiceLOCBrownton, Minnesota. Twenty-year-old farm boy registering f…1942Brownton, Minnesota. Selective Service registration for men twenty to forty-four not previously registeredLOCBrownton, Minnesota. Selective Service registration for men…1942Brownton, Minnesota. Selective Service registration for men twenty to forty-four not previously registeredLOCBrownton, Minnesota. Selective Service registration for men…1942Brownton, Minnesota. Selective Service registration for men twenty to forty-four not previously registeredLOCBrownton, Minnesota. Selective Service registration for men…1942Untitled photo, possibly related to: Brownton, Minnesota. Selective Service registration for men twenty to forty-four n…LOCUntitled photo, possibly related to: Brownton, Minnesota. S…1942
1950s–
1990s
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Brownton is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Brownton has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is McLeod County Courthouse in Glencoe, 10.1 miles away.

Brownton and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Brownton. Tap a dot.
McLeod County CourthouseGlencoe Grade and High SchoolMerton S. Goodnow HouseHutchinson Carnegie LibraryHarry Merrill HouseKomensky School

Closest to Brownton

McLeod County CourthouseGlencoe · Beaux-Arts10.1miGlencoe Grade and High SchoolGlencoe · Classical Revival10.3miMerton S. Goodnow HouseHutchinson · Prairie Style10.7miHutchinson Carnegie LibraryHutchinson · Neo-Classical · Built 190410.9miHarry Merrill HouseHutchinson · Greek Revival · Built 185811.3mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. McLeod County Courthouse’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Brownton?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Brownton’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Brownton, Minnesota. Twenty-year-old farm boy registering for Selective Service (1942) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Sumter📜 Penn📜 Collins📜 Round Grove

From the Library of Congress (5). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

The coffee’s on

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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