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History · Brownsville

Brownsville dates to 1878, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 1960.

1878founded
0on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Brownsville began

When was Brownsville founded?

1878

Brownsville dates its founding to 1878 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 276 in 19602020 census: 598148 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1879.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 writtenNo old photos of Brownsville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Brownsville’s homes were built before 1961.
★ 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.
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The story

How Brownsville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Brownsville.

Read it all →

The Village of Brownsville was first known as Thetis Station and had a narrow gauge railroad connection to Fond du Lac and Iron Ridge. In April 1878 the village was officially renamed to its current name, which was taken in honor of Alfred D. Brown, an English immigrant and pioneer farmer who in 1850 had settled an 80-acre farm on the edge of the village and became one of the first merchants there as well. The village remained unincorporated until it gained official status as an incorpated village on December 23, 1952. 1878 can therefore be regarded as the village's founding, with 1952 being its start as a proper municipality. As the town became more established towards the turn of the 20th Century, additional businesses and agricultural infrastructure were built, including crop storage bins and a grain elevator. In 1902 a small factory was built in town where it was used in local chees…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Brownsville, 1878 to 1955

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878
    FoundingBrownsville is established
  3. 1879Post officeThe Brownsville post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Brownsville, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Brownsville fire company 19632023Brownsville fire company 1963BrownsvilleWisconsinEF22018BrownsvilleWisconsinEF2Michels Corporation in2014Michels Corporation inBrownsville Wisconsin Sign looking east on WIS492014Brownsville Wisconsin Sign looking east on WIS49Brownsville Wisconsin Looking East on WIS492014Brownsville Wisconsin Looking East on WIS49Brownsville Tower2009Brownsville TowerWIMap-doton-Brownsville2004WIMap-doton-Brownsville
On the map

Brownsville on the map, 1955 to 1974

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 1955 USGS mapBrownsville on the 1974 USGS map1955Campbellsport 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.

People over time

Brownsville, census by census

01002003004005006001960198020002020598

Grew from 276 people in 1960 to 598 in 2020.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Brownsville

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

See all →
King Camp GilletteAmerican entrepreneur · b. 1855
Travis DienerAmerican basketball player · b. 1982
Brigid BazlenAmerican actress · b. 1944
R
Ronald LangackerProfessor emeritus in the field of linguistics … · b. 1942
Scott McCallumWisconsin businessman and politician · b. 1950
F. Ryan DuffyUnited States federal judge and U.S. Senator · b. 1888

Questions about Brownsville’s history

What year was Brownsville founded?

In 1878, according to Wikidata. Brownsville’s post office opened in 1879, and the census of 1960 counted 276 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 (7), Wikipedia, 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.