Brownville, Nebraska
Encyclopedia
Brownville is a village in Nemaha County
, Nebraska
, United States
. The population was 146 at the 2000 census.
, with a population of 1,309 by 1880. Bordering slave-holding Missouri
, the town became an important port
on the Missouri River
. Daniel Freeman
, the first homesteader
to file a claim under the Homestead Act
of 1862, staked his claim at a New Year's Eve
party in Brownville.
The rise of the railroad was ultimately Brownville's undoing. The railroads siphoned traffic away from the Missouri River's steamboat
s. Brownville's attempt to secure a railroad of its own was severely botched and led to immense tax
increases to pay the bonds
for the failed venture. This drove most of the population away and led to the county seat being transferred to Auburn
in 1885. In 1856 Thomas Weston Tipton moved to the town to serve as a minister. He later became a longtime U.S. Senator
, and ran an unsuccessful campaign for Governor of Nebraska
. Omaha land magnates Herman
and Augustus Kountze
held large holdings in the early town.
After the Civil War David Mercer
established a law practice in the town. Mercer later served as a long-time U.S. Representative
from Nebraska. The Nebraska State Fair
was held in the town in 1870 and 71. That year Eugene Gilmore
, the future acting Governor-General of the Philippines
, was born in the town.
The Brownville Bridge was built over the Missouri River in 1939. Today it is on the National Register of Historic Places
. Owing to its place in Nebraska history, Brownville is primarily a tourist
attraction with several old house
s opened for tours or converted into museum
s. Art
galleries and wineries
in and near Brownville have also helped to make the town an increasingly attractive getaway for residents of the region's larger cities. Omaha
's River City Star
was built in the town in 1967, and was originally named the Belle of Brownville. The Governor Furnas Arboretum
was planted in the city in 1992. The arboretum is named in honor of Nebraska's second governor, Robert W. Furnas, the signer of the first declaration of Arbor Day
. The Cooper Nuclear Station
is south of the city. In 1995 a mild tornado
blew through the town.
, Brownville has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²), all of it land.
above the Missouri River Valley
. It is home to one of Nebraska's two nuclear power plants. The Cooper Nuclear Station
is owned and operated by the Nebraska Public Power District. U.S. Route 136
, which meets Nebraska Highway 67
near Brownville, runs through the town, exiting the state via the Brownville Bridge. At Brownville bicycle riders along the Lewis & Clark Trail Bicycle Route
can choose between the Steamboat Trace or the Hamburg Option.
of 2000, there were 146 people, 74 households, and 40 families residing in the village. The population density
was 233.9 people per square mile (90.9/km²). There were 106 housing units at an average density of 169.8 per square mile (66.0/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 99.32% White, and 0.68% from two or more races.
There were 74 households out of which 20.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples
living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.6% were non-families. 40.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.97 and the average family size was 2.63.
In the village the population was spread out with 18.5% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 19.2% from 25 to 44, 34.2% from 45 to 64, and 22.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 51 years. For every 100 females there were 117.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $34,375, and the median income for a family was $51,000. Males had a median income of $35,750 versus $28,438 for females. The per capita income
for the village was $20,928. There were 11.5% of families and 15.9% of the population living below the poverty line, including 15.2% of under eighteens and 17.9% of those over 64.
Nemaha County, Nebraska
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 7,576 people, 3,047 households, and 1,980 families residing in the county. The population density was 18 people per square mile . There were 3,439 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 146 at the 2000 census.
History
Established in 1854 and incorporated in 1856, Brownville was the largest town in the Nebraska TerritoryNebraska Territory
The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebraska Territory was created by the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854...
, with a population of 1,309 by 1880. Bordering slave-holding Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, the town became an important port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
on the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
. Daniel Freeman
Daniel Freeman
Daniel Freeman was an American homesteader, physician and Civil War veteran. He was recognized as the first person to file a claim under the Homestead Act of 1862...
, the first homesteader
Homesteading
Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of simple self-sufficiency.-Current practice:The term may apply to anyone who follows the back-to-the-land movement by adopting a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. While land is no longer freely available in most areas of the world, homesteading...
to file a claim under the Homestead Act
Homestead Act
A homestead act is one of three United States federal laws that gave an applicant freehold title to an area called a "homestead" – typically 160 acres of undeveloped federal land west of the Mississippi River....
of 1862, staked his claim at a New Year's Eve
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
party in Brownville.
The rise of the railroad was ultimately Brownville's undoing. The railroads siphoned traffic away from the Missouri River's steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
s. Brownville's attempt to secure a railroad of its own was severely botched and led to immense tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
increases to pay the bonds
Bond (finance)
In finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest to use and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...
for the failed venture. This drove most of the population away and led to the county seat being transferred to Auburn
Auburn, Nebraska
Auburn is a city in Nemaha County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 3,350 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Nemaha County. The City of Auburn is actually an incorporation of two towns. Calvert and Sheridan combined to form Auburn in 1882, in part to have the voting power to...
in 1885. In 1856 Thomas Weston Tipton moved to the town to serve as a minister. He later became a longtime U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, and ran an unsuccessful campaign for Governor of Nebraska
Governor of Nebraska
The Governor of Nebraska holds the "supreme executive power" of the State of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Nebraska Constitution. The current Governor is Dave Heineman, a Republican, who assumed office on January 20, 2005 upon the resignation of Mike Johanns . He won a full...
. Omaha land magnates Herman
Herman Kountze
Herman Kountze was a powerful and influential pioneer banker in Omaha, Nebraska in the late 19th century. After organizing the Kountze Brothers Bank in 1857 as the second bank in Omaha, Herman and his brothers Augustus, Charles and Luther changed the charter in 1863, opening the First National...
and Augustus Kountze
Augustus Kountze
Augustus Kountze was a pioneer banker, politician, philanthropist and railroad supporter in Omaha, Nebraska, Kountze, Texas and New York City...
held large holdings in the early town.
After the Civil War David Mercer
David Henry Mercer
David Henry Mercer was a Nebraska Republican politician.Born in Benton County, Iowa on July 9, 1857, he moved with his parents to Adams County, Illinois in 1858. After the American Civil War he moved again to Brownville, Nebraska. He graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1880 and...
established a law practice in the town. Mercer later served as a long-time U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Nebraska. The Nebraska State Fair
Nebraska State Fair
The Nebraska State Fair is a state fair held annually in Grand Island. It is an approximately ten-day event; since the early 1990s, the fair ends on Labor Day. Prior to 2010, the fair was held in Lincoln, Nebraska.-History:...
was held in the town in 1870 and 71. That year Eugene Gilmore
Eugene Allen Gilmore
Eugene Allen Gilmore was the acting Governor-General of the Philippines from 1929 to 1930, the Dean of the College of Law at the University of Iowa from 1930 to 1934, the twelfth President of the University of Iowa from 1934 to 1940, and the law dean at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law...
, the future acting Governor-General of the Philippines
Governor-General of the Philippines
The Governor-General of the Philippines was the title of the government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, governed mainly by Spain and the United States, and briefly by Great Britain, from 1565 to 1935....
, was born in the town.
The Brownville Bridge was built over the Missouri River in 1939. Today it is on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. Owing to its place in Nebraska history, Brownville is primarily a tourist
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
attraction with several old house
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
s opened for tours or converted into museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s. Art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
galleries and wineries
Winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
in and near Brownville have also helped to make the town an increasingly attractive getaway for residents of the region's larger cities. Omaha
Omaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...
's River City Star
River City Star
The River City Star is a passenger excursion riverboat that sails on the Missouri River in the United States between Omaha, Nebraska, and Council Bluffs, Iowa. The boat is docked at Miller's Landing in the NoDo area of Downtown Omaha and is registered in Nebraska for taxes and alcohol licensing...
was built in the town in 1967, and was originally named the Belle of Brownville. The Governor Furnas Arboretum
Governor Furnas Arboretum
The Governor Furnas Arboretum is a young arboretum located in Brownville, Nebraska, United States.The arboretum was planted in 1992-1993, and became an affiliate of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum in 1996...
was planted in the city in 1992. The arboretum is named in honor of Nebraska's second governor, Robert W. Furnas, the signer of the first declaration of Arbor Day
Arbor Day
Arbor Day is a holiday in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees. It originated in Nebraska City, Nebraska, United States during 1872 by J. Sterling Morton. The first Arbor Day was held on April 10, 1872, and an estimated 1 million trees were planted that day.Many...
. The Cooper Nuclear Station
Cooper Nuclear Station
Cooper Nuclear Station is a boiling water reactor type nuclear power plant located on a 1,251-acre site near Brownville, Nebraska between Missouri River mile markers 532.9 and 532.5...
is south of the city. In 1995 a mild tornado
May 1995 Tornado Outbreak Sequence
The May 1995 Tornado Outbreak Sequence is a series of tornado outbreaks that occurred from May 6 through May 27, 1995. Eleven deaths occurred due to the outbreak. Nearly 300 tornadoes occurred during this period from the Central US through the Southeast and into the Mid-Atlantic...
blew through the town.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, Brownville has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²), all of it land.
Notable places
Brownville sits in the Loess HillsLoess Hills
The Loess Hills are a formation of wind-deposited loess soil in the westernmost part of Iowa and Missouri along the Missouri River.-Geology:The Loess Hills are generally located between 1 and east of the Missouri River channel...
above the Missouri River Valley
Missouri River Valley
The Missouri River Valley outlines the journey of the Missouri River from its headwaters where the Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin Rivers flow together in Montana to its confluence with the Mississippi River in the State of Missouri. At long the valley drains one-sixth of the United States, and is...
. It is home to one of Nebraska's two nuclear power plants. The Cooper Nuclear Station
Cooper Nuclear Station
Cooper Nuclear Station is a boiling water reactor type nuclear power plant located on a 1,251-acre site near Brownville, Nebraska between Missouri River mile markers 532.9 and 532.5...
is owned and operated by the Nebraska Public Power District. U.S. Route 136
U.S. Route 136
U.S. Highway 136 is a spur of U.S. Highway 36. It runs from Edison, Nebraska, at U.S. Highway 6 and U.S. Highway 34 to the Interstate 74/Interstate 465 interchange in Speedway, Indiana. This is a distance of 804 miles .-Nebraska:...
, which meets Nebraska Highway 67
Nebraska Highway 67
Nebraska Highway 67 is a highway in southeastern Nebraska. Its southern terminus is at an intersection with U.S. Highway 73 near Verdon. Its northern terminus is at an intersection with U.S. Highway 34 near Nehawka...
near Brownville, runs through the town, exiting the state via the Brownville Bridge. At Brownville bicycle riders along the Lewis & Clark Trail Bicycle Route
Lewis & Clark Trail Bicycle Route
The Adventure Cycling Association Lewis & Clark Trail Bicycle Route is a US Cycle route divided into multiple route segments/side routes. The route is a total of...
can choose between the Steamboat Trace or the Hamburg Option.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 146 people, 74 households, and 40 families residing in the village. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 233.9 people per square mile (90.9/km²). There were 106 housing units at an average density of 169.8 per square mile (66.0/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 99.32% White, and 0.68% from two or more races.
There were 74 households out of which 20.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.6% were non-families. 40.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.97 and the average family size was 2.63.
In the village the population was spread out with 18.5% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 19.2% from 25 to 44, 34.2% from 45 to 64, and 22.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 51 years. For every 100 females there were 117.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $34,375, and the median income for a family was $51,000. Males had a median income of $35,750 versus $28,438 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the village was $20,928. There were 11.5% of families and 15.9% of the population living below the poverty line, including 15.2% of under eighteens and 17.9% of those over 64.
Notable residents
- Thomas TiptonThomas TiptonThomas Weston Tipton was a Senator from Nebraska.-Biography:He was born in Cadiz, Ohio, and attended Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsylvania. He pursued classical studies and graduated from Madison College, Pennsylvania, in 1840. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1844...
, one of the first two United States Senators from Nebraska. - Eugene Allen GilmoreEugene Allen GilmoreEugene Allen Gilmore was the acting Governor-General of the Philippines from 1929 to 1930, the Dean of the College of Law at the University of Iowa from 1930 to 1934, the twelfth President of the University of Iowa from 1934 to 1940, and the law dean at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law...
, Acting Governor-General of the PhilippinesGovernor-General of the PhilippinesThe Governor-General of the Philippines was the title of the government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, governed mainly by Spain and the United States, and briefly by Great Britain, from 1565 to 1935....
in 1927.
Cultural references
- Willa CatherWilla CatherWilla Seibert Cather was an American author who achieved recognition for her novels of frontier life on the Great Plains, in works such as O Pioneers!, My Ántonia, and The Song of the Lark. In 1923 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours , a novel set during World War I...
's 1897 short story A ResurrectionA ResurrectionA Resurrection is a short story by American writer Willa Cather. It was first published in Home Monthly in April 1897.-Plot summary:Martin is back to his hometown, Brownville, Nebraska, where he wants to pick up his son Bobbie and move to Kansas City with him. Upon hearing that, Marjorie is upset -...
is set in Brownville, and it includes a description of the town. - St. Joseph, Days of Civil WarSt. Joseph, Days of Civil WarSt. Joseph, Days of Civil War is a documentary film on how the city of St. Joseph, Missouri was affected by the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. The documentary was written, produced and directed by Jim Conlon. The documentary was shot in three states, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska....
, a documentary about the Civil War, was partly filmed in Brownville.