Brown City was established in 1879 as a station on the Port Huron and Northwestern Railway, later a part of the Pere Marquette Railroad.

[4] The area quickly grew to become an efficient shipment point for lumber and grains.

[5] The Marquette Flyer provided early rail passenger and mail service between Detroit and Ludington.

In the 1920s the Pere Marquette came under the control of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and was formally merged into it on 6 June 1947.

The line southeast of Brown City is still in place to the Avoca grain elevator, but has been out of service since the HESR acquisition.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.09 square miles (2.82 km2), all land.

27.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

26.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.