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History · Brunswick

Brunswick’s post office opened in 1836, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1850.

1836first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Brunswick’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Brunswick began

When was Brunswick founded?

1836

The Brunswick post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 363 in 18502020 census: 801190 years
Founding year: the first Brunswick post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Brunswick’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.On the map since 18904 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1982. Watch Brunswick change.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,801 in 1880; 801 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1911, drew every building in Brunswick.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Brunswick’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewOn The Grand River at: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Brunswick on the map, 1890 to 1982

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

Brunswick on the 1890 USGS mapBrunswick on the 1901 USGS mapBrunswick on the 1951 USGS mapBrunswick on the 1982 USGS map1890Marshall 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 Brunswick.

People over time

Brunswick, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0001850190019502000Peak: 1,801

Peaked at 1,801 in 1880; 801 people lived here in 2020.

17 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

The story

How Brunswick came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Brunswick.

Read it all →

For thousands of years varying cultures of indigenous peoples settled by the Missouri River. At the time of European contact, historical tribes in the area included the Missouri, Osage, Kaw, Otoe and others. In 1723 Etienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont built Fort Orleans near here, established on the Missouri River near the mouth of the Grand River. It was occupied 1723-1726 as the first multi-year European fort and settlement in present-day Missouri. It was to be a trading centerpiece of La Louisiane, the new territory claimed by the French.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Brunswick, 1836 to 1926

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1836Post officeThe Brunswick post office opens
  3. 1848Born hereSol Smith Russell is born here
  4. 1867Born hereHarry M. Coudrey is born here
  5. 1880CensusPopulation peaks at 1,801
  6. 1882Born hereWilbur Sweatman is born here
  7. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 20th century
  9. 1900In the archiveOn The Grand River at
  10. 1926Born hereWayne E. Meyer is born here
By decade

Brunswick, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
On The Grand River atc. 1900On The Grand River at
1910s–1990snothing yet
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
Today11 recent
Brunswick P5300108 Trail of Death (Oct 22, 1838)2012Brunswick P5300108 Trail of Death (Oct 22, 1838)Brunswick P5300107 L&C path from river2012Brunswick P5300107 L&C path from riverBrunswick P53001062012Brunswick P5300106Brunswick P5300105 L&C Missouri2012Brunswick P5300105 L&C MissouriBrunswick P5300104 L&C Missouri2012Brunswick P5300104 L&C MissouriBrunswick P5300103 L&C Missouri2012Brunswick P5300103 L&C MissouriBrunswick P5300094 (Sinclair)2012Brunswick P5300094 (Sinclair)Brunswick - L&C Campsite P5300102 L&C2012Brunswick - L&C Campsite P5300102 L&CBrunswick - L&C Campsite P53000982012Brunswick - L&C Campsite P5300098Brunswick - L&C Campsite P53000972012Brunswick - L&C Campsite P5300097Access Brunswick P53001102012Access Brunswick P5300110
Every building

Brunswick, building by building, 1885–1911

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 year, then a sheet.

Brunswick fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
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.

On The Grand River at
Retake this viewOn The Grand River at, c. 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

5 famous people were born in Brunswick

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

See all →
Wilbur SweatmanAmerican musician · b. 1882
Harry M. CoudreyAmerican politician · b. 1867
Sol Smith RussellAmerican actor · b. 1848
Wayne E. MeyerUnited States admiral · b. 1926
Darold KnowlesAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1941
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Brunswick Township1 historic placeADe Witt TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Brunswick’s history

What year was Brunswick founded?

The Brunswick post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (12), 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), 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.