Brownwood and Brown County are named in honor of Captain Henry Stephenson Brown, a Kentucky born trader and Indian fighter.  Brown, a lover of adventure and danger, is known to have been in Brown County for a brief time in search of horses stolen by Indians.  Though he was never a resident, his memory is honorably perpetuated in the name of Brownwood and Brown County because of his spirit of adventure, character, gallantry and contributions to Texas.

Brown County was established by the state legislature on August 27, 1856.  The heritage of this area is agriculture, oil, railroad and military.  Brownwood was on a feeder line of the Western Trails, causing interest by the railroad.  Cotton was the main crop in the early 1900's in Brown County as was so in Comanche and Mills counties with total acres in production ranging from 156,000 to 168,000 from 1900 through 1910.  Brownwood was the center for Farmers' Alliance and the largest cotton-buying center west of Ft. Worth and West Texas Compress Company.  sixteen cotton gins were productive in Brown County as well as the Brownwood Cotton Oil Mill.

The mighty boll weevil changed production for all three counties, causing a shift to growing more small grains in brown County.  Livestock production was still strong and products were still moved by rail.  Oil was discovered in Brown County in 1917, giving a need boost to the economy after the decline of cotton production.  By the time the rail connections had expanded to cross the state northeast to west.

Lake Brownwood is a man-made lake on the Pecan Bayou.  On December 3, 1929, the State Board of Water Engineers authorized the construction of the lake and diversion of 16,800 acre-feet of water for municipal and industrial purposes.  A water improvement district was formed and they acquired 7,200 acres of land for the water reservoir.  The impoundment of water was to begin in July 1933.  A survey of the watershed of the lake revealed that two years of normal rainfall were needed before the lake would fill.  However, on July 3, 1932, torrential rains caused Pecan Bayou and Jim Need Creek to pour flooding waters into the lake, filling it to a level of 150,000 acre-feet and covering more than 7,000 acres of land in six hours!

Camp Bowie was once the largest World War II training facility in the nation.  The campsite was one and one half south and east of the city limits of Brownwood.  During the years of 1940-1946, it grew to be one of the largest training centers of the state.  Approximately a quarter of a million men were processed at the camp.

In 1914, Camp Bowie had 213 mess halls, 224 bathhouses, 22 recreation centers, a post exchange with 27 branches, 3 libraries, a golf course, 3 dental clinics, 14 chapels and a hospital that could care for 2,000 patients.

The U.S. flag came down for the last time on October 1, 1946 at Camp Bowie with the notification that the War Department had declared the camp as "surplus."  Today the National Guard has 36th Division Headquarters on a portion of the site with the remainder becoming home to the Brownwood Industrial Park, businesses, Sport Complex, individual homes,  hospital and medical buildings.

To learn about the history of the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce, click HERE.