History Brownville
It doesn’t take much in the place I live to discover history. Turn over a few inches of dirt to plant melons and discover a pre-Civil War honey pot; move some floorboards to drop electrical wires and there is a tiny, faceted carnelian ring resting on an 1880 receipt for a bushel of grapes. It’s been like that since we moved to Brownville, Neb., going on three years ago.
Across the street from my 1861 house is the Brownville Historical Society’s (BHS) Captain Bailey House Museum. Its collection includes Nebraska Territory letters, Civil War photographs, Gov. Robert W. Furnas memorabilia (including a virtual Who’s Who of American history in the form of bound letters and notes), soldier journals, quilts and important furnishings, implements and artistic accomplishments that span more than 155 years of intimate village history. I discovered a photo of Eva Baker there. The Baker family bought my house in 1903. In the photo, Eva sports the classic, corseted Gibson Girl style topped by a confident half-smile and a joyously feminine hat. I just know the carnelian ring belonged to her.
Discovery is a large part of the appeal of this village. One friend found a black powder flask and another the original strap metal jail—found after a flood at the bottom of the creek that threads its way through town. The village, of which a large portion is on the National Register of Historic Places, is situated in the lush Missouri River Valley. The natural beauty and pristine location allow you to adopt a more natural pace of life. You can easily hear the river slap the shore, squirrels skirmish on treetops and deer brush through native paw paw trees and goldenrod. And the stars at night, well, just imagine.
Two houses down from mine is the October House, built by Oscar Lake in 1857, a young man who accomplished a lot in a short amount of time and is buried in Walnut Grove Cemetery on the top of one of Brownville’s famed “seven hills.” An elder statesman of the town told me that October houses were built by farmers who brought their families to town often—many spending the entirety of harsh Nebraska winters in the houses. They typically arrived in October, returning to their farms, husbands and fathers at season’s end—snowbirds of a sort.
From the mid-1850s through the mid-1870s, Brownville was the largest, most important town in a four-county area and acted like it by producing many great ideas, actions and citizens. A critical crossing point of the Missouri River for the westward migration, as well as a vital freighting and cattle-drive route, the village was always greater than the sum of its parts due to its expansive spirit and unlimited determination. Its stone wharf was a key steamboat landing. Today the charter and cruise boat, The Spirit of Brownville, carries on a modern version of that tradition, sharing with visitors part of the river life experience.
Gov. Robert Furnas, Nebraska’s second governor, came to Brownville in 1856 and started one of the territory’s first newspapers, The Nebraska Advertiser, and first magazines, “The Nebraska Farmer.” In the Civil War, he fought in the territorial militia as a colonel commanding three Indian regiments. Furnas was also the first president of the Nebraska State Historical Society.
Arbor Day was created under Furnas’ administration as governor. Visit the Governor Furnas Museum and you’ll see that among his passions were trees. He helped promote the orchard and fruit production that sustained much of Brownville’s economy for decades. From the late 1870s forward, Brownville’s striking hills and valleys were organized by orderly grids of apple, pear and peach trees, and row after row of mature grape vines. In the museum you’ll find a leather-bound book belonging to Furnas with more than 60 hand-colored prints depicting the variety of fruits you could find in the surrounding hills and valleys. While groves like the Kennedy Orchards & Vineyard still remain, most were killed during a terrible freeze in 1940.
In 1857, a U.S. Land Grant Office was established, and in 1863 it was the site of the first Homestead Act filing in America. Brownville was also the first Nemaha County seat, and in the cottonwood grove along the Missouri River near where the new floating bed-and-breakfast, The River Inn, is now located was the site of the first two state fairs in 1870 and 1871.
Today the local economy flourishes because of the village’s past. In May 2010, the BHS Railroad History Center will be opening, the seventh museum in the village of 145 people. Part of the tale its collection will tell is that of the Brownville’s bid for a vital railroad line that would keep the area economy strong as river transportation was supplanted by rail transportation after the Civil War. Villagers and area supporters formed the Brownville, Fort Kearny & Pacific Railroad Company and passed bonds to pay for the project to be paid upon completion. The railway bid failed, driving many away because of the high rate of taxation required to pay the bonds. Later the Midland Pacific Railroad, running between Brownville and Nebraska City, was built, providing a critical lifeline for the local fruit and fishery industry.
On the west end of town the Brownville Brewery was established in 1866. A section of the underground bricked storage caverns has been restored and is open for tours by the Whiskey Run Creek Vineyard & Winery, whose operation perches above a creek in a restored 1902 oak-and-walnut-beam barn. This charming winery opened in 2002 and has a large selection of award-winning wines. On the east end of town rests the Captain Meriwether Lewis Dredge Museum. A former U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredge boat (1931), this National Historic Landmark is a rare example of the type of boat that tamed the Missouri River, controlling its banks and allowing for safe navigation. Today you can fish from the banks of the river and catch monumental catfish, paddlefish and shovelnose sturgeon.
On the north side of the village, two serene, seldom visited locations rest atop a hill—Capitol Square Park and Walnut Grove Cemetery. Capitol Square Park features a grove of burr oak trees from the village’s earliest days, a 1950s playground and a gazebo that commemorates the proposed site for the State of Nebraska’s capitol during Nebraska’s territorial days. Unfortunately for Brownville, not only did it lose its bid as state capitol, it lost the honor of being the Nemaha County seat in 1886.
On the south side are three Nebraska treasures. The Brownville Methodist Church is a starkly beautiful brick church that has held continuous religious services since before the Civil War, and the Christian Church, which was moved from its original location on Main Street to Water Street in 1967, has housed the oldest repertory theater ever since. The Brownville Village Theatre professionally produces five plays and musicals during the summer season and is fully supported by ticket sales and patronage.
Finally, the newest gem in the crown of Nebraska’s only International Booktown is the relocation of Omaha’s Antiquarium Bookstore and Bill Farmer Gallery, a nationally recognized rare and used bookstore, to the site of Brownville’s Teachers College, another of the village’s National Landmarks. The Antiquarium is the fourth bookstore in the village alongside Lincoln-based A Novel Idea Bookstore: Chapter Two, The Village Bookstore and the Lyceum Bookstore & Café. It is now possible to spend days and days perusing their shelves and the six art galleries that Brownville hosts.
Whether you discover old favorites like the Spirit of Brownville, The Mill (Nebraska’s oldest health food store), the heirloom-quality handmade brooms at Country Brooms or new favorites like the Antiquarium, the River Inn, the Cooking School of Brownville or the Whiskey Run Creek Winery, it is worth your time to come to Brownville to discover a few things on your own and create new memories.
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