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History · Brooklyn

Brooklyn dates to 1873, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1837 on and old-book passages.

1873founded
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
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Quick answers

How Brooklyn began

When was Brooklyn founded?

1873

Brooklyn dates its founding to 1873 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1891.

2020 census: 649153 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1891.The full story ↓

What stands out about Brooklyn’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Brooklyn’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Brooklyn’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Brooklyn’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Brooklyn came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Brooklyn.

Read it all →

A missionary AME Church was established in the new settlement in 1836. Now known as Quinn's Chapel AME, its congregation is believed to have supported the Underground Railroad and aided fugitive slaves to freedom, together with members of the Antioch Baptist Church established in 1838.

An early interracial community, it suffered from structural discrimination; transport lines were routed to bypass and isolate it rather than connecting it, and economic development projects passed over it, and indeed were set up in competition to it. In 2015, the county's state attorney Brendan Kelly described the village as a 'failed state.'

Chapters20th centuryArcheological and historic research

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Brooklyn in 1881

Passages that mention Brooklyn, cut from the printed page as they were published.

they dug into the side of the bluffs at this point. Until 1851, the coal was hauled to St. Louis by ox and mule teams across the bottoms. In February, 1851, the company completed a railroad from Caseyville to Brooklyn on which they immediately placed a locomotive, and rolling stock, and large quant…
History of St. Clair County, Illinois. With illustrations ... and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1881Read the page →
Read the text

they dug into the side of the bluffs at this point. Until 1851, the coal was hauled to St. Louis by ox and mule teams across the bottoms. In February, 1851, the company completed a railroad from Caseyville to Brooklyn on which they immediately placed a locomotive, and rolling stock, and large quantities of coal were daily carried into St. Louis. / 247

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Brooklyn, 1837 to 1965

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837In the archive1837 plat map of
  3. 1873
    FoundingBrooklyn is established
  4. 1879Born hereBenjamin H. Lucas is born here
  5. 1891Post officeThe Lovejoy post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1930Born hereJoe Henry is born here
  8. 1940Born hereHamiet Bluiett is born here
  9. 1965Born hereBarry Sumpter is born here
By decade

Brooklyn, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1830s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1830s1 item
1837 plat map of18371837 plat map ofMap
Famous people

4 famous people were born in Brooklyn

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Hamiet BluiettAmerican jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and com… · b. 1940
B
Barry SumpterAmerican basketball player · b. 1965
J
Joe HenryAmerican baseball player · b. 1930
B
Benjamin H. LucasAmerican minister and politician · b. 1879
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

MadisonIts storyB+Fairmont CityIts storyCVeniceIts storyB

Questions about Brooklyn’s history

What year was Brooklyn founded?

In 1873, according to Wikidata. Brooklyn’s post office opened in 1891.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.