Brown County, Illinois

Founding: 1839
Parent county: Schuyler

Namesake: Jacob Brown, U.S. army officer
Seat: Mount Sterling (1839–)

Land area: 306 square miles

Population (2020): 6,244

Population (historic): 4,183 (1840); 9,938 (1860); 13,041 (1880); 11,557 (1900); 7,892 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1840–1880; 1930s; 1980–2000

Subdivisions: One city; three villages; nine townships

National Register listings: Three

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 769 (31.4%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 42%
Pre-1860 housing survival rate (1940): 6.4%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 9.5%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 8.1%

Average farmhouse value (1930): $1,156
Average outbuilding value (1930): $1,080

Average farmhouse size (1940): 5.7 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 1,352
Average farm size (1920): 91.1 acres
Sources of settlement: Ohio, Kentucky, Ireland, Germany, and Pennsylvania
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Mount Sterling

Namesake: Unclear—perhaps Mount Sterling, Kentucky

Founding: 1833 (platting); 1833 (post office); 1837 (incorporation)

Population (2020): 2,006

Population (historic): 556 (1850); 1,352 (1870); 1,655 (1890); 1,986 (1910); 1,724 (1930)

Periods of population growth: 1833–1910; 1930–1960; 1970s; 1990s
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 289 (28.7%)
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Outstanding Buildings

1. *Sylvester Nokes Farm (1881). County Road 100E, south of County Road 900N. Lee. Italianate. Razed.
2. *Brown County Infirmary (1878). US Highway 24, east of County Road 350E. Lee. Razed.