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History · Browning

Browning’s post office opened in 1895, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1867 on and the census since 1920.

1895first post office
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
12famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Browning’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Browning began

When was Browning founded?

1895

The Browning post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 986 in 19202020 census: 1,018131 years
Founding year: the first Browning post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Browning’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 2,011 in 1960; 1,018 people lived here in 2020.Famous sons and daughtersSteve Reevis, James Welch and 10 more were born here.
★ What stands out · People over time

Browning, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,011

Peaked at 2,011 in 1960; 1,018 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

12 famous people were born in Browning

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

See all →
S
Steve ReevisBlackfoot Native American actor · b. 1962
J
James WelchNative American writer · b. 1940
Darrell KippAmerican historian, Blackfoot language teacher · b. 1944
Alfred Young ManCree artist, writer, and professor · b. 1948
F
Frosty Boss RibsAmerican politician · b. 1955
J
Joe HippAmerican boxer · b. 1962
The story so far

Browning, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Browning yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Browning is a former town and current census-designated place (CDP) in Glacier County, Montana, United States. It is the headquarters for the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and was the only incorporated town on the Reservation. The population was 1,018 at the 2020 census. The town was named in 1885 for Commissioner of Indian Affairs Daniel M. Browning. The post office was established in 1895. The town was disincorporated on September 26, 2018, after the town's government collapsed financially.

Its first post office opened in 1895. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,016 in 2010, 1,018 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Browning, 1867 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1867In the archiveBrowning craft shop - women: Blackfeet women displaying various artifacts
  3. 1895Post officeThe Browning post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1919In the archiveIndian members of Red Cross Chapter
  6. 1925In the archiveRe-enactment of war dance at Blackfeet Indian reservation at Browning, Montana
  7. 1940Born hereJames Welch is born here
  8. 1944Born hereDarrell Kipp is born here
  9. 1948Born hereAlfred Young Man is born here
  10. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 2,011
  11. 1962Born hereSteve Reevis is born here
  12. 1973In the archiveDESERTED RAILROAD STATION IN
By decade

Browning, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Browning craft shop - women: Blackfeet women displaying various artifacts1867Browning craft shop - women: Blackfeet women displayi…
1910s–1920s4 items
Indian members of Red Cross Chapter1919Indian members of Red Cross ChapterWolf Tail, a full blood Blackfeet Indian, member of the Browning Red Cross Chapter, the largest Indian donor to the Red…1919Wolf Tail, a full blood Blackfeet Indian, member of t…Re-enactment of war dance at Blackfeet Indian reservation at Browning, Montana1925Re-enactment of war dance at Blackfeet Indian reserva…Portrait of Tsaxcoomipa or Big Painted Lodge1926Portrait of Tsaxcoomipa or Big Painted Lodge
1930s–1960snothing 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
1970s1 item
DESERTED RAILROAD STATION IN1973DESERTED RAILROAD STATION IN
1980s–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
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.

Browning craft shop - women: Blackfeet women displaying various artifacts
Retake this viewBrowning craft shop - women: Blackfeet women displaying various artifacts, 1867

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

Retake this view · +15
Help out

Finish Browning’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBrowning craft shop - women: Blackfeet …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

North BrowningIts storyC−South BrowningIts storyD

Questions about Browning’s history

What year was Browning founded?

The Browning post office opened in 1895, 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 (3), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.