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History · Browning

12% of Browning’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1902 on.

0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Skye Marthaler · CC BY-SA 3.0

What stands out about Browning’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Browning are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19023 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1980. Watch Browning change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Browning’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Browning’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
On the map

Browning on the map, 1902 to 1980

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

Browning on the 1902 USGS mapBrowning on the 1979 USGS mapBrowning on the 1980 USGS map1902Marathon 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 Browning.

The story

How Browning came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Browning.

Read it all →

The south and east edges of the six by six mile square that would become Browning were first surveyed in 1851 by crews working for the U.S. government. In the fall of 1861 a different crew of surveyors marked all the section corners in the township, walking through the woods and swamps, measuring with chain and compass. When done, the deputy surveyor filed this general description:

The Surface of this Township is generally level or gently rolling. Soil is principally 2nd Rate Timber Hemlock Birch Sugar White Pine Spruce and Fir and it is well watered by numerous Small Streams of pure water.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Browning, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Gad, Wisconsin2013Gad, WisconsinBrowning Town Hall2013Browning Town HallWIMap-doton-Browning2005WIMap-doton-Browning
Famous people

Famous people close to Browning

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

See all →
J
Jeane DixonAmerican astrologer and psychic · b. 1904
Charles WinningerActor · b. 1884
Jack PerkinsActor · b. 1921
George Washington BlanchardAmerican politician · b. 1884
Dale LewisAmerican professional and amateur wrestler · b. 1933
Erny PinckertAmerican football player · b. 1907
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Birchwood SchoolschoolFairfield SchoolschoolFrey Schoolschool

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

MedfordIts storyCGoodrichIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGreenwood1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDeer CreekIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townChelseaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Browning’s history

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), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.