Browns, Illinois


Browns is a village in Edwards County, Illinois, United States. The population was 134 as of the 2010 census, down from 175 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Browns is located on the eastern border of Edwards County at . The eastern village limit is Bonpas Creek, which forms the Wabash County line. Illinois Route 15 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.

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".
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. 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 days.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 175 people, 67 households, and 45 families residing in the village. The population density was 599.5 people per square mile. There were 77 housing units at an average density of 263.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 97.14% White, 0.57% African American, 1.71% Asian, and 0.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.71% of the population.
37.3% of households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of single occupants and 11.9% were single occupants aged 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.27.
In the village, the population was spread out: with 26.3% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 113.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $23,214, and the median income for a family was $31,667. Males had a median income of $25,625 versus $22,750 for females. The per capita income for the village was $10,922. About 4.8% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under the age of eighteen or sixty five or over.

Notable person