Napoleon Bonaparte Brown was a soldier, businessman, philanthropist, politician, and resident of Kansas and Missouri in the late 1800s and early 1900s until he died on March 18, 1910.[1] He is most known as the namesake and builder of the Brown Grand Theatre in Concordia, Kansas, a majestic opera house completed in 1907 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The theatre has been called "the most elegant theater between Kansas City and Denver."[2]
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Military career
"Colonel" Brown enlisted in the 101st Illinois Infantry on January 3, 1864 and given the rank of Major. Major Brown served in "B" Company[3] until he resigned on January 17, 1865[4]--the very day the 101st crossed into South Carolina from Georgia under General William Tecumseh Sherman.[5] Cloud county records show that he was paid the pension ($25.00) of a major.[6] After he retired from the military, he "promoted himself" to the rank of Colonel.[7]
Business & Philanthropy
Colonel Brown served in the state legislatures for both Kansas and Missouri[8] and was a prominent banker in Kansas during its early years of development as the owner of N. B. Brown & Co., founded in 1878 [9] with a rumored "suitcase full of money" that he had with him upon his arrival.[10] Colonel Brown and is wife Katherine (Katie) then built Brownstone Hall[11], a 23-room Victorian-style 5,000 square foot stone mansion built in Concordia in 1883.[12]
In 1905, Colonel Brown commissioned the building of the Brown Grand Theatre and entrusted its completion to his son, Earl Van Dom Brown. The theatre was completed in 1907.
References
- ^ http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cocoon/legacies/KS/200003024.html
- ^ http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cocoon/legacies/KS/200003024.html
- ^ http://www.illinoiscivilwar.org/cw101-news.html
- ^ http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilcivilw/f&s/101-fs.htm
- ^ http://www.illinoiscivilwar.org/cw101-news.html
- ^ http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/cloud/ExMilitary.htm
- ^ http://www.browngrand.org/history.htm
- ^ http://www.browngrand.org/history.htm
- ^ http://www.kancoll.org/books/cutler/cloud/cloud-co-p2.html#CONCORDIA
- ^ http://www.browngrand.org/history.htm
- ^ http://www.kancoll.org/khq/1977/77_1_offthepress.htm
- ^ http://www.kake.com/news/features/4/437061.html
- Bell, Rachel Lowrey (1998a). A Proud Past... A Pictorial History of Concordia, Kansas, Marceline, Missouri: D-Books Publishing.
- Emery, Janet Pease (1970a). It Takes People to Make a Town, Salina, Kansas: Arrow Printing Company. Library of Congress number 75-135688.
External links
- Brown Grand Theatre http://www.browngrand.org/
- Google search http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4SUNA_en___US204&q=%22napoleon+bonaparte+brown%22
