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BROWNWOOD,
TEXAS
Brown County Seat,
Texas
Panhandle
At the juncture of Hwys 84 and 377
Just W of Hwy 183
82 miles SE of Abilene
via Hwy 84
131 miles SW of Fort
Worth via Hwy 377
Population:
18,813 (2000)
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Brownwood
Jail Museum
Photo courtesy Shannan Yarbrough, 2005 |
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History in
a Pecan Shell
Present day Early was the original site of Brownwood. The
county was organized and Brownwood made the county seat in 1857.
Growth was slow until the 1880s and the dawn of the 20th century
saw 4,000 residents in Brownwood. The courthouse burned in 1880,
the first railroad came through in 1885. The second came
through in 1891. Howard Payne College opened in 1889, the
same year as Daniel Baker College that later became part
of Howard Payne College in 1953.
1900 saw Brownwood as the biggest cotton center west
of Fort Worth.
An oil boom in the 20s didn't hurt the town, but it was nothing
compared to the boom brought about by the building of Camp Bowie.
Camp Bowie,
not to be confused with the WWI
Camp Bowie near Fort Worth, was to become the largest training camp
in Texas. The Brownwood population
of 1940 (13,000) was more than matched just by the workers at the
Camp. The severe housing shortage for military dependants and workers
turned various buildings and even movie theaters into dormitories.
The Camp also
served as a prisoner-of-war camp beginning in 1942, that
held 3,000 German prisoners. Camp Bowie was deactivated in September
of 1946.
The Brown
County Courthouse
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Brownwood
Attractions
Brown County
Museum of History
Located in the old jail in the 200 block of Broadway
Open Thursday & Friday 9 to 5, Saturday 10 to 4.
Camp Bowie
Memorial Park - Burnett Drive and Travis Road
Douglas
MacArthur Academy of Freedom - Affiliated with Howard Payne
University, The museum contains MacArthur memorabilia and
a larger-than-life statue of MacArthur by sculptor Waldine Tauch.
Austin Avenue and Coggin - 325-646-2502
Indian Creek
Cemetery near Brownwood -
"Sometimes called Texas’ greatest woman writer, [Katherine
Anne] Porter died September 18, 1980, in a nursing home at College
Park, Maryland, after a series of strokes. She was buried beside
her mother’s grave in the Indian Creek Cemetery near Brownwood."
See Katherine
Anne Porter by Bob Bowman
Lake
Brownwood
Lake
Brownwood State Park
Brownwood
Hotels
Book Your Hotel Here & Save
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Brownwood
Tourist Information
Brownwood
Chamber of Commerce:
In the recently restored railroad depot.
600A Depot Street - 325-646-9535
Website: www.brownwoodchamber.org |
People
Eyewitness
by Maggie Van Ostrand
J.W. Epperson, a carpenter by trade, lived at 1601 First Street in
Brownwood Texas, though he wasn't always a carpenter and he didn't
always live in Brownwood. He was once a newsboy and lived in Washington
DC. This does not sound all that memorable except for one fact: He
was selling newspapers at Ford's Theatre on the night of April 14,
1865... more |
| Photo
courtesy Donna Chevalier, June 2007 |
Ghost
signs in Brownwood
Photo courtesy Donna Chevalier, June 2007 |
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