Laura Pyle

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Brownsville, OR Area Guide

For Brownsville, ‘small town’ is the nicest thing you could call them. Located in the southern Willamette Valley in western Oregon, Brownsville is a town of 1700 people who enjoy their historic downtown. A walk down our main street shows off its collection of buildings dating back to the 1850’s. The best part is, you can enjoy small town life and still get big city perks, with Eugene and other cities within 25 miles of Brownsville.

Join us and enjoy the good life at a leisurely pace in our delightful downtown shops, dine at restaurants that will tantalize your taste buds and later, take a tour of the museum. Snuggled neatly in the foothills of the Cascades in the middle of Willamette Valley, it’s an easy drive anywhere you want to go. In the end though, you’ll want to come back to visit time and again, so keep a bag packed and enjoy our picturesque little town. Before too long, you’ll be staying longer and longer until you realize small town life is for you. When you do, give your Realtor a call and start looking at houses!

To learn more, visit: http://www.ci.brownsville.or.us/ and http://www.historicbrownsville.com/index.php

History
One of Oregon’s early settlements, Brownsville was born in 1846 when a group of families came west on the Oregon Trail and continued south to lay claim to land in the valley of the Calapooia River. The Kirks, Browns and Blakely families settled in and the Kirks established a small ferry across the Calapooia River the following year, operating until 1853 when a covered bridge was built over the river, the first built with county funds.

Hugh Brown, in order to serve the travelers, built a store south of the river and in 1853, Blakely laid out a town on part of his land claim and named it after his uncle. The railroad came to town in 1880 and by 1884 North Brownsville had become a center of commerce, with a population of 300. In 1895, the north and south sides of the river town were joined to become the City of Brownsville and by 1912, the population had grown to 1,000 people.

Today, the population is still small, but Brownsville has seen growth of the town and the people, having had such luminaries as William Jennings Bryan speak.

To learn more, visit: Brownsville History

Attractions & Activities

Linn County Historical Moyer House 204 Main Street, Brownsville 541-466-3390

Crawfordsville Covered Bridge Named after area settler Philemon Crawford, it’s a double truss, wood shingle roof bridge, come see a fine example of old style workmanship.

The Living Rock Studios Come visit our museum and gift shop featuring Oregon art, rock paintings and miniatures and so much more, celebrating Brownsville’s and the surrounding area’s history. 911 West Bishop Way, Brownsville 541-466-5814

Covered Bridges Society of Oregon Oregon has the largest collections of covered bridges in the west and one of the largest in the nation, and the CBSO’s tradition dates from the 1850’s.

Visit: http://covered-bridges.org/bridges.htm

For more attractions, visit: Brownsville Attractions

Parks & Recreation

Pioneer Park
Willamette Valley
Willamette River Water Trail Area
Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway

Events Calendar

For a complete listing of all the great things to do in Brownsville, visit: Brownsville Calendar of Events