Brown County is a county in Kansas, United States, in the northeastern part of the state, on the Nebraska border. It had a population of 9,508 at the 2020 census and covers 572 square miles (1,480 km2) centred near 39°48′N 95°35′W.
Hiawatha is the county seat; its postal code is 66434. The county has three incorporated cities, one town that straddles the Nemaha County line, and roughly a dozen smaller unincorporated communities, several of them within the Kickapoo Reservation. Brown County sits in the Central time zone.
Towns & Villages in Brown County
Brown County’s populated places range from Hiawatha, its largest city, down to open crossroads communities and reservation housing sites. Cities below are incorporated under Kansas law; CDP denotes a Census Designated Place; Unincorp. covers small settlements and reservation sites with no municipal government.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hiawatha | City · seat | 3,127 | 66434 |
| Horton | City | 1,695 | 66439 |
| Everest | City | — | 66424 |
| Fairview | City | — | 66425 |
| Morrill | City | — | 66515 |
| Powhattan | City | — | 66527 |
| Robinson | City | — | 66532 |
| Sabetha | City | — | — |
| Baker | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Fidelity | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hamlin | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mercier | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Padonia | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Reserve | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sun Springs | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Willis | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Kickapoo Tribal Center | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Kickapoo Site 1 | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Kickapoo Site 2 | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Kickapoo Site 5 | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Kickapoo Site 6 | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Kickapoo Site 7 | Unincorp. | — | — |
Sabetha sits almost entirely across the county line in Nemaha County, with only a small edge of the city inside Brown County — its post office and municipal government are based on the Nemaha side. The Kickapoo Site communities are numbered housing clusters on the Kickapoo Indian Reservation, administered by the tribe rather than incorporated as towns.
ZIP Codes
- 66434 — Hiawatha
- 66439 — Horton
- 66424 — Everest
- 66425 — Fairview
- 66515 — Morrill
- 66527 — Powhattan
- 66532 — Robinson
Smaller unincorporated communities and the Kickapoo Site housing areas use the ZIP code of the nearest post office town rather than a ZIP of their own.
Geography
Brown County lies on gently rolling glaciated plains in northeastern Kansas, drained by the Wolf River, which rises in the county, and by Walnut Creek and Delaware Creek. Of the county’s 572 square miles, 571 square miles are land and 1.2 square miles are water. Brown State Fishing Lake sits a few miles east of Hiawatha. The county also contains parts of three federally recognized reservations: the Kickapoo Indian Reservation, most of the Sac and Fox Reservation, and most of the Iowa Reservation of Kansas and Nebraska.
Brown County borders Doniphan County to the east and Atchison County to the southeast, both in Kansas; Jackson County lies to the southwest and Nemaha County to the west, also in Kansas; Richardson County, Nebraska, lies across the state line to the north. Doniphan and Atchison County pages are live on this site; Jackson County’s page is at Jackson County, Kansas; Nemaha County (Kansas) and Richardson County (Nebraska) do not currently have their own pages on this site, so are named here without a link.
Demographics
Brown County had 9,508 residents at the 2020 census, giving a density of about 16.7 people per square mile. Hiawatha and Horton are its two largest communities. The county’s median household income runs below the Kansas median of $70,333, reflecting its largely rural, agricultural economy.
Economy & Local Life
Agriculture anchors the county’s economy, with corn, soybeans and cattle the leading enterprises on the surrounding farmland. Hiawatha is home to Hiawatha Community Hospital and Highland Community College’s original campus town lies just south in Doniphan County; Horton grew up as a Rock Island Railroad division point and still carries a rail-town identity. The Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, headquartered near Horton, operates the Golden Eagle Casino, one of the county’s larger employers.
History
Brown County was organized on August 25, 1855, one of the original counties laid out under the Kansas Territory, and named for Albert G. Brown, a U.S. senator from Mississippi. Hiawatha was platted in 1857 and became the county seat. The county’s Kickapoo, Sac and Fox, and Iowa reservations date to 19th-century federal treaties that relocated those nations from the Great Lakes region and predate most of the county’s non-Native settlement.
Getting There
U.S. Route 36 crosses the county east–west through Hiawatha, and U.S. Route 73 runs north–south through Horton and Hiawatha toward the Nebraska line.
- Horton — 8 miles south of Hiawatha
- Falls City, Nebraska — 20 miles north of Hiawatha
- Sabetha — 20 miles west of Hiawatha
- Topeka — 65 miles southwest of Hiawatha
The nearest commercial airport is Kansas City International Airport, roughly 90 miles east.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Brown County, Kansas?
It is in northeastern Kansas on the Nebraska border, roughly 90 miles northeast of Topeka.
What is the population of Brown County?
9,508 residents at the 2020 census.
How big is Brown County?
572 square miles (1,480 km2), of which 571 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Brown County?
Hiawatha is the county seat.
How many towns are in Brown County?
Seven incorporated cities — Hiawatha, Horton, Everest, Fairview, Morrill, Powhattan and Robinson — plus Sabetha, which mostly lies in neighboring Nemaha County, and about a dozen unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Brown County?
66434 (Hiawatha), 66439 (Horton), 66424 (Everest), 66425 (Fairview), 66515 (Morrill), 66527 (Powhattan) and 66532 (Robinson).
What reservations are in Brown County?
The Kickapoo Indian Reservation and parts of the Sac and Fox and Iowa reservations all lie within the county.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Kansas.