Brown County was created in 1879, organized in 1881, and named for Alfred Brown who was a member of the legislature of 1879. Governor Ordway appointed three commissioners in July 1880 and Columbia was named as the temporary county seat. Columbia was the first town to be organized and the first election in Brown County was held in Columbia in 1880. The Milwaukee railroad reached Aberdeen in late 1880 and the Northwestern Railroad in 1882. To remove the county seat required a two-thirds vote until in 1887 when it was changed to a majority vote. In that same year Aberdeen obtained a majority vote over Columbia; however, in 1889 the county seat was ordered back to Columbia. It was again submitted to the general election in 1890 and the vote was in favor of Aberdeen. The Brown County Courthouse, Aberdeen, was dedicated on March 24, 1904.