Browns is a village in Edwards County,

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. The population was 139 as of the 2020 census, slightly up from 134 as of the 2010 census.

History

Few records of the early history are available because the first books were destroyed by fire. Recorded history of Browns begins in 1880 when John Henderson and his wife Emma had the present site surveyed into blocks, streets, lots and alleys and named it "Frazier".''Edwards County Sesquicentennial Book, 1814-1964'' On May 7, 1892, a petition was filed asking that an election be held to incorporate the site as the village of Browns, apparently in honor of John L. Brown, a prominent citizen of that name.Edward Callary,
Place Names of Illinois
' (University of Illinois Press, 2010), p. 47. The election was held on May 24 of that year and carried narrowly, 31 to 27. The village of Browns is a "dry" community and has been since the

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

days.

Geography

Browns is located on the eastern border of Edwards County at (38.376732, -87.982873). The eastern village limit is

Bonpas Creek Bonpas Creek is a tributary of the Wabash River in Illinois. It rises to the east of Olney in Richland County, Illinois. Flowing south, it forms the boundary between Edwards and Wabash counties. The creek is long.U.S. Geological Survey. Na ...

, which forms the Wabash County line.

Illinois Route 15 Illinois Route 15 (IL 15) is a east–west highway in southern Illinois with its western terminus at Illinois Route 3, U.S. Route 40, I-55, and I-64, and its eastern terminus at Wabash River at the Illinois/Indiana Border where it meets S ...

passes just north of the village, leading west to Albion, the Edwards County seat, and east to Mount Carmel. According to the 2010 census, Browns has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 139 people, 91 households, and 57 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 67 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 99.28%

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and 0.72%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.72% of the population. There were 91 households, out of which 47.25% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.95% were married couples living together, 5.49% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.36% were non-families. 21.98% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.09% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 2.48. The village's age distribution consisted of 26.1% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 18.6% from 25 to 44, 38% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.2 males. The median income for a household in the village was $63,125, and the median income for a family was $76,750. Males had a median income of $47,125 versus $30,208 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the village was $26,477. About 5.3% of families and 16.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable person

* Franklin P. Buyer, member of the

Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the legislative body of the City of Los Angeles in California. The council is composed of 15 members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The president of the council and the president pro tem ...

(1933–1939), attended school in Browns

References

{{authority control Villages in Edwards County, Illinois Villages in Illinois Populated places established in 1892