The land that is now Browning, Missouri was first purchased by a
man named Francis Stone on October 30, 1840. The land passed
through various hands until it was officially platted on November 15,
1872, partially in Linn County, partially in Sullivan County. Justin
Clark named Browning after a Mrs. Browning of Burlington, Iowa, a
member of the Burlington & Southwestern Railroad Company. Mrs.
Browning was the wife of a brother of John O. H. Browning.
In 1892 it became a fourth class city. The first electricity was put
into effect on June 21, 1915. The streets of Browning were graveled
in 1929 and city water was installed in 1956.
The Burlington Railroad first began service to Browning, Missouri,
in 1872.In the late 1880's Browning was the second largest railroad
shipping town in Linn County, next to Brookfield, with logs, lumber
and hoop-poles being the main items shipped. Coal was mined locally,
though not commercially.
The town grew quickly after the railroad arrived and had around 1,000
people in the early 1900's. In the late 1930's, the Burlington Railroad
discontinued regular passenger trains on the line that ran through
Linneus, Purdin, and Browning. A self-contained unit known as the
“Doodle-Bug” or “Puddle-Jumper” replaced the regular locomotive
passenger trains, containing a power and a passenger section, which
twenty-five to forty passengers could be accommodated, plus a small
freight compartment. Mail was carried in the freight section.
Rail service to Browning was discontinued in 1981 and the track was
removed in 1982.
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