Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1880.
The Brownsdale post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Mower City (1858), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Brownsdale’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Brownsdale.
Brownsdale was platted in 1856, and named for Andrew D. Brown, a businessman in the lumber industry. A post office has been in operation at Brownsdale since 1857. Brownsdale was incorporated in 1876.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Brownsdale, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Brownsdale Postoffice. Brownsdale postoffice was established in the fall of 1856. with John L. Johnson as postmaster. The office was kept in his store. Mails were received once a week, brought from Austin on horseback. Mr. Johnson remained in charge of the office until 1858, when H. W. Shook received the appointment of postmaster. He was relieved in turn by A. D.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The village of Brownsdale was laid out in sections 9 and 10, township 103, range 17, in the summer of 1856, by A. D. and H. A. Brown and John L. Johnson, who had M. K. Armstrong survey and plat about 160 acres. Brown Bros, soon purchased the interest of J. L. Johnson, and became sole proprietors. The village grew rapidly for a year or two, and then remained nearly stationary until the advent of the Southern Minnesota in 1871.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Brownsdale. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Brownsdale.
Between 261 and 718 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Brownsdale’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Brownsdale itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Brownsdale’s post office has been open since 1857. Another post office, Mower City, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Brownsdale post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
