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History · Brashear

Brashear dates to 1872, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 1880.

1872founded
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Brashear’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Brashear began, and where its name came from

When was Brashear founded?

1872

Brashear dates its founding to 1872 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 164 in 18802020 census: 235154 years

How did Brashear get its name?

Brashear was named after Richard Matson Brashear (1846-1933), who was a prominent farmer and businessman in the area.

Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1873. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Brashear’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.Boom and bustPeaked at 458 in 1910; 235 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19033 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1981. Watch Brashear change.Old housesHalf of Brashear’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Brashear’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewOld Grade Road Bridge, Spanning Brashea…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Brashear, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 458

Peaked at 458 in 1910; 235 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the map

Brashear on the map, 1903 to 1981

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

Brashear on the 1903 USGS mapBrashear on the 1966 USGS mapBrashear on the 1981 USGS map1903Edina sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Brashear came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Brashear.

Read it all →

The town of Brashear was laid out in 1872. It was named after Richard Matson Brashear (1846-1933), who was a prominent farmer and businessman in the area. Richard Matson Brashear was the son of William Gowan Brashear (1807-1862), who is said to have been one of the first white settlers in the area in 1842. However, the Brashear community dates back prior to 1872 by several years. Approximately one mile north of the current location, there once stood a prosperous small village named Paulville, also known as Paultown, which was established around 1855 by a man named Walker Paul (1816-1888). Paulville served as a trading hub for the farms of eastern Adair County, along with several other businesses, one of which was a grist mill. Sometime during the Civil War, the grist mill was put to the torch to prevent Confederate recruits from being resupplied. The coming of the Quincy, Missouri &…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Brashear, 1872 to 1910

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872
    FoundingBrashear is established
  3. 1873Post officeThe Brashear post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 458
By decade

Brashear, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Old Grade Road Bridge, Spanning Brashear Drainage Ditch (Salt River)Date?Old Grade Road Bridge, Spanning Brashear Drainage Dit…
Today1 recent
MOMap-doton-Brashear2004MOMap-doton-Brashear
Every building

Brashear, building by building, 1914

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Brashear fire insurance map, 1914, sheet 11914Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Old Grade Road Bridge, Spanning Brashear Drainage Ditch (Salt River)
Retake this viewOld Grade Road Bridge, Spanning Brashear Drainage Ditch (Salt River)

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Brashear’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Brashear

Nobody well known was born in Brashear itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Geraldine PageAmerican actress · b. 1924
G
Gordon BellAmerican computer engineer · b. 1934
G
George SalingAthletics competitor · b. 1909
Farrell DobbsAmerican labour organizer, left-wing politician… · b. 1907
George TurnerU.S. politician from Washington state · b. 1850
Rhonda VincentAmerican musician · b. 1962

Questions about Brashear’s history

What year was Brashear founded?

In 1872, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Brashear’s post office opened in 1873, and the census of 1880 counted 164 people here.

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 (1), the Library of Congress (1), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.