Where is Brownlow, Kansas

“The railroad never came or the railroad came and left. Days passed. The clouds looked down and left the land unchanged.”

 

clouds

 

So it is that there are many towns, villages, and places in Kansas that have disappeared in time. Brownlow is one of them.
It has never appeared on a map. It had a church, a school, a doctor, at the very least, and a cemetery to bury its dead, but little more is known. The few references are confusing at best. For instance, the Butler County Directories, 1878 Gazetteer and Business Director, R. L. Polk Company describes Brownlow as:
“A settlement on Hickory creek, in the southeastern part of Butler county, 10 miles from El Dorado, the county seat.”
Then the obituary of Alexander Baker says he “came to Butler county in 1888 at the age of 17. The family settled on a 360 acre farm in the Brownlow community – halfway between Leon and Latham.” Further that Mr. Baker was a member “of the old Brownlow Methodist Church, the congregation of which later transferred to the Latham Methodist Church when the Brownlow church closed.”

detail of Butler County map, 1885

 

There is the brief mention of Brownlow in the bio of J. A. L. Williams, M. D., druggist, native of Indiana, who, in 1871 he came to Butler County, Kas., locating at Brownlow, where he practiced medicine for a time, removing to Cowley County, and finally, in 1875, a resident of Douglass.

Perhaps the best clue of where Brownlow comes from is the school district designation – “23 Brownlow Leon Rt. 3.” This places the schoolhouse known as Brownlow, no. 23. At a location halfway between Leon and Latham as Mr. Baker’s obit suggests, but a few miles past the ten miles given in the Gazetteer.
Where does the name Brownlow come from?
Best guess is that the community was named by T.R. Purcell of nearby Walnut Township. Purcell, a Tennessee native, gave his service to the Union cause, enlisting in the First (Union) Tennessee Cavalry, under command of Colonel James P. Brownlow, and serving two years and nine months. Col. Brownlow is remembered for his crossing of the Chattahoochee River near Atlanta, Georgia on July 9, 1864. What made the event noteworthy was that the Northern soldiers who crossed the river and attacked the Confederate defenders on the south bank did so in the nude.

Then too, let us give a nod to James’ brother William, Methodist pastor, Governor of Tennessee and U.S. Senator.

The Brownlow village and community disappeared in time, but the cemetery remains. It can be found with the help of Google at 135 se and Hickory road to the south of Hickory Creek.

Why do I bother with Brownlow?

It is a pretty place in the countryside, hard to find, and so peaceful.  The cemetery is a tribute to my wife’s ancestors in Butler County – the Brewers.  One can wander the cemetery and look upon the fading grave markers and wonder what stories they contain. Morbid or fascinating? Decide for yourself.

Roehl in Brownlow Cemetery