Brown County is a county located in the northeast portion of the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Hiawatha. Brown County is the location of the Kickapoo Indian Reservation of Kansas, the majority of the Sac and Fox Reservation and the majority of the Iowa Reservation of Kansas and Nebraska.
For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau.
In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre.
In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, and then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. Brown County was founded in 1855, was named for Albert G. Brown.