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Brownton

Ghost town · Morgan County, Illinois

Virginia quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1932, 1:62,500)
Virginia quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1932, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Brownton is a ghost town in Morgan County, Illinois. It is one of 6 former communities in Morgan County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 5th among the 78 Illinois counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Brownton as a historical populated place on the Literberry topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 39.7637° N, 90.1912° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleLiterberry
Elevation622 ft
Nearest living townJacksonville, IL
Distance to it3.2 miles
GNIS feature ID422506
Coordinates39.76366, -90.19123

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Brownton is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Jacksonville, IL (population 17,490), about 3.2 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 622 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Brownton?

Brownton is in Morgan County, Illinois, at 39.7637, -90.1912.

How many ghost towns are in Morgan County?

Morgan County, Illinois has 6 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.