A Quick History of Brownsburg

In the early 1820’s, white settlers began to arrive in this area. At first it was just a broken-down stretch of wilderness. The Delaware Indians used to live there, but the area is called Lincoln Township now. The Town of Brownsburg was formed shortly after in this way. James B. Brown was the first settler, and he came to Brownsburg in 1824. Brownsburg used to be called Brownsburgh because it was the town of Brownsburg. Even before that, it was called Harrisburgh. They changed the name because there was already a town named Harrisburgh. Between the 1840s to 1870s, Brownsburg tripled in size.

The town’s first election was held in 1848. In 1863 Brown Township was divided, becoming Brown Township to the North named after its first resident and Lincoln Township to the South after President Lincoln. In 1863, it was divided into Brown Township and Lincoln Township. In 1893, the “h” was dropped from the name, resulting in Brownsburg. Brownsburg is proud to sustain over 40 civic organizations with local and national affiliations, 30 churches of varying denominations, two community theatre troupes, a Halloween House, carnivals, celebrations and several area parks.

Fun Facts:

• Did you know that Brownsburg is around 35.5 years old?
• The Brownsburg Fire Department was officially formed in 1942, as a Volunteer Fire Department.
• In 1981, the library is 25,000 square feet and contains over 102,000 books.
• A stagecoach line was established along a road built in 1820 connecting all the small outlying communities with Indianapolis.