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History · Brownsville

Brownsville’s post office opened in 1852, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Church of the Holy Comforter-Episcopal. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1956 on, and the census since 1870.

1852first post office
1on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Brownsville began

When was Brownsville founded?

1852

The Brownsville post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 625 in 18702020 census: 566174 years
Founding year: the first Brownsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Brownsville’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.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1870 and 1930, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Brownsville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Brownsville’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
People over time

Brownsville, census by census

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020625 in 1870Low: 274

Lost half of its people between 1870 and 1930, then more than doubled.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Brownsville’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Brownsville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Brownsville.

Read it all →

A post office called Brownsville has been in operation since 1852. Brownsville was platted in 1854 by the brothers Job and Charles Brown, and named for them.

The village of Brownsville was destroyed by fire in October 1920. The loss was reported to be worth $75,000. The rail depot and eight other buildings were destroyed.

The weekly Brownsville News newspaper, established in June 1885, ceased publication in October 1920. It was issued with the Houston County Chief from November 1920 to April 1927 and with the Hokah Chief from April to July 1927.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Brownsville, 1818 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1818In the archiveBrownsville, Houston County, Minnesota
  3. 1852Post officeThe Brownsville post office opens
  4. 1870CensusPopulation peaks at 625
  5. 1891Born hereWilliam Hauber is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Brownsville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1810s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1810s1 item
Brownsville, Houston County, Minnesota1818Brownsville, Houston County, MinnesotaDocument
Today4 recent
Railroad dump truck-22024Railroad dump truck-2Brownsville, Minnesota2023Brownsville, MinnesotaBrownsville, Minnesota aerial2023Brownsville, Minnesota aerialMNMap-doton-Brownsville2005MNMap-doton-Brownsville
On the map

Brownsville on the map, 1956 to 1980

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Brownsville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Brownsville on the 1956 USGS mapBrownsville on the 1980 USGS map1956Brownsville sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Brownsville.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Brownsville

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
Church of the Holy Comforter-Episcopal
Church of the Holy Comforter-Episcopal
Buildings
All 1 listings
Church of the Holy Comforter-EpiscopalBuilding · listed 1970

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Brownsville’s post office has been open since 1852.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Ward Lee Mobile Home Park
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Brownsville
Evangelical LutheranVeterans

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Brownsville’s history

What year was Brownsville founded?

The Brownsville post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Brownsville?

One place: the Church of the Holy Comforter-Episcopal (listed 1970).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.