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C. L. Brown
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<h2 id="early-life">Early life</h2> <p>Brown's father, Jacob Brown<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> was a <a href="/facts/Grist_mill/TP4qMmSr">grist mill</a> owner.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> Brown lost his arm when he was ten in a mill accident.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> He had worked as a teacher and also managed a creamery in Wichita.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> Brown first built a local electric company, Abilene Electric Light Works<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a> to generate electricity from the Smoky Hill River.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="entrepreneurship-and-philanthropy">Entrepreneurship and philanthropy</h2> <p>Cleyson Brown founded the Brown Telephone Company in 1899<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a> in <a href="/facts/Abilene%2c_Kansas/sMW7lhuB">Abilene, Kansas</a> with his brother Jacob Brown.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23"><sup>23</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24"><sup>24</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25"><sup>25</sup></a> The local request to start a phone company to challenge the local Bell Telephone company was only five years after the Bell Telephone patents had expired. It is lately known as Sprint.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:26" href="#fn:26"><sup>26</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:27" href="#fn:27"><sup>27</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:28" href="#fn:28"><sup>28</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:29" href="#fn:29"><sup>29</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:30" href="#fn:30"><sup>30</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="other-ventures">Other ventures</h2> <p>Brown then ventured into shoe stores, grocery stores, gravel and sand company, hotels, news service, and broadcast station, insurance companies and oil concerns creating an empire.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:31" href="#fn:31"><sup>31</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:32" href="#fn:32"><sup>32</sup></a> </p><p>He also formed the Brown Memorial Foundation (1926)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:33" href="#fn:33"><sup>33</sup></a> in memory of his parents.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:34" href="#fn:34"><sup>34</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:35" href="#fn:35"><sup>35</sup></a> A park in around 200 acres was built for the public for free,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:36" href="#fn:36"><sup>36</sup></a> which included an amusement park with a lake, zoo, golf course, tennis courts, and other attractions.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:37" href="#fn:37"><sup>37</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:38" href="#fn:38"><sup>38</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Kathy Hageman. "A bridge to remember". Abilene Reflector Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="http://www.abilene-rc.com/news/a-bridge-to-remember/article_582e0d26-6f0b-11e8-a63b-eb9d5dd1449c.html" target="_blank">http://www.abilene-rc.com/news/a-bridge-to-remember/article_582e0d26-6f0b-11e8-a63b-eb9d5dd1449c.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Calling all phone fans: The Museum of Independent Telephony has your number". kansascity. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/living/travel/article20663538.html" target="_blank">https://www.kansascity.com/living/travel/article20663538.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Eisenhower Presidential Library". www.eisenhower.archives.gov. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="https://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/all_about_ike/abilene_years/ikes_abilene/us_sprint.html" target="_blank">https://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/all_about_ike/abilene_years/ikes_abilene/us_sprint.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Cleyson Brown 2001 - School of Business | Emporia State University". www.slim.emporia.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="http://www.slim.emporia.edu/business/community/kbhf/historical/cleyson-brown-2001.html" target="_blank">http://www.slim.emporia.edu/business/community/kbhf/historical/cleyson-brown-2001.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Sondra van Meter McCoy (Summer 1982). "Patriarch of Abilene: Cleyson L. Brown and the United Empire, 1898-1935" (PDF). Kansas History. Kansas Historical Society: 107–119. Retrieved 2019-06-29. ... or C. L. Brown, as many people called him, ... <a href="https://www.kshs.org/publicat/history/1982summer_mccoy.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.kshs.org/publicat/history/1982summer_mccoy.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Sondra van Meter McCoy (Summer 1982). "Patriarch of Abilene: Cleyson L. Brown and the United Empire, 1898-1935" (PDF). Kansas History. Kansas Historical Society: 107–119. Retrieved 2019-06-29. ... or C. L. Brown, as many people called him, ... <a href="https://www.kshs.org/publicat/history/1982summer_mccoy.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.kshs.org/publicat/history/1982summer_mccoy.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Sean Buckley. "Cleyson Brown, founder of Brown Telephone, the precursor to Sprint". FierceTelecom. Retrieved 2019-06-29. <a href="https://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-report/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-telephone-precursor-to-sprint" target="_blank">https://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-report/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-telephone-precursor-to-sprint</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Sondra van Meter McCoy (Summer 1982). "Patriarch of Abilene: Cleyson L. Brown and the United Empire, 1898-1935" (PDF). Kansas History. Kansas Historical Society: 107–119. Retrieved 2019-06-29. ... or C. L. Brown, as many people called him, ... <a href="https://www.kshs.org/publicat/history/1982summer_mccoy.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.kshs.org/publicat/history/1982summer_mccoy.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"Brown Park Waterfall". Kansas Travel. Retrieved 2019-06-29. <a href="http://kansastravel.org/brownsparkwaterfall.htm" target="_blank">http://kansastravel.org/brownsparkwaterfall.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Cleyson Brown 2001 - School of Business | Emporia State University". www.slim.emporia.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="http://www.slim.emporia.edu/business/community/kbhf/historical/cleyson-brown-2001.html" target="_blank">http://www.slim.emporia.edu/business/community/kbhf/historical/cleyson-brown-2001.html</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Cleyson Brown, founder of Brown Telephone, the precursor to Sprint Mobile | FierceTelecom". www.fiercetelecom.com. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="https://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-report/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-telephone-precursor-to-sprint" target="_blank">https://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-report/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-telephone-precursor-to-sprint</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"Cleyson Brown, founder of Brown Telephone, the precursor to Sprint - …". archive.li. 2013-06-29. Archived from the original on 2013-06-29. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="https://archive.today/20130629050105/http://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-reports/19-people-who-changed-face-wireline-telecom-industry/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-tel" target="_blank">https://archive.today/20130629050105/http://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-reports/19-people-who-changed-face-wireline-telecom-industry/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-tel</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"Cleyson Brown, founder of Brown Telephone, the precursor to Sprint Mobile | FierceTelecom". www.fiercetelecom.com. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="https://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-report/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-telephone-precursor-to-sprint" target="_blank">https://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-report/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-telephone-precursor-to-sprint</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Kathy Hageman. "A bridge to remember". Abilene Reflector Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="http://www.abilene-rc.com/news/a-bridge-to-remember/article_582e0d26-6f0b-11e8-a63b-eb9d5dd1449c.html" target="_blank">http://www.abilene-rc.com/news/a-bridge-to-remember/article_582e0d26-6f0b-11e8-a63b-eb9d5dd1449c.html</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>"Eisenhower Presidential Library". www.eisenhower.archives.gov. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="https://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/all_about_ike/abilene_years/ikes_abilene/us_sprint.html" target="_blank">https://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/all_about_ike/abilene_years/ikes_abilene/us_sprint.html</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>"Cleyson Brown, founder of Brown Telephone, the precursor to Sprint - …". archive.li. 2013-06-29. Archived from the original on 2013-06-29. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="https://archive.today/20130629050105/http://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-reports/19-people-who-changed-face-wireline-telecom-industry/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-tel" target="_blank">https://archive.today/20130629050105/http://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-reports/19-people-who-changed-face-wireline-telecom-industry/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-tel</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>"Cleyson Brown 2001 - School of Business | Emporia State University". www.slim.emporia.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="http://www.slim.emporia.edu/business/community/kbhf/historical/cleyson-brown-2001.html" target="_blank">http://www.slim.emporia.edu/business/community/kbhf/historical/cleyson-brown-2001.html</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>Zink, Adrian (2017-11-06). Hidden History of Kansas. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781625858894. <a href="9781625858894" target="_blank">9781625858894</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>"Cleyson Brown 2001 - School of Business | Emporia State University". www.slim.emporia.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="http://www.slim.emporia.edu/business/community/kbhf/historical/cleyson-brown-2001.html" target="_blank">http://www.slim.emporia.edu/business/community/kbhf/historical/cleyson-brown-2001.html</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>"Cleyson Brown, founder of Brown Telephone, the precursor to Sprint Mobile | FierceTelecom". www.fiercetelecom.com. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="https://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-report/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-telephone-precursor-to-sprint" target="_blank">https://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-report/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-telephone-precursor-to-sprint</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>"Cleyson Brown, founder of Brown Telephone, the precursor to Sprint - …". archive.li. 2013-06-29. Archived from the original on 2013-06-29. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="https://archive.today/20130629050105/http://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-reports/19-people-who-changed-face-wireline-telecom-industry/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-tel" target="_blank">https://archive.today/20130629050105/http://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-reports/19-people-who-changed-face-wireline-telecom-industry/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-tel</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>"Cleyson Brown 2001 - School of Business | Emporia State University". www.slim.emporia.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="http://www.slim.emporia.edu/business/community/kbhf/historical/cleyson-brown-2001.html" target="_blank">http://www.slim.emporia.edu/business/community/kbhf/historical/cleyson-brown-2001.html</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:23"><p>"Cleyson Brown, founder of Brown Telephone, the precursor to Sprint Mobile | FierceTelecom". www.fiercetelecom.com. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="https://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-report/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-telephone-precursor-to-sprint" target="_blank">https://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-report/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-telephone-precursor-to-sprint</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:24"><p>"Cover Story: A timeline of Sprint's transitions, from switchboards to T-Mobile". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2018/05/18/sprint-history-transitions-tmobile-merger.html" target="_blank">https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2018/05/18/sprint-history-transitions-tmobile-merger.html</a> <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:25"><p>"Cleyson Brown, founder of Brown Telephone, the precursor to Sprint - …". archive.li. 2013-06-29. Archived from the original on 2013-06-29. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="https://archive.today/20130629050105/http://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-reports/19-people-who-changed-face-wireline-telecom-industry/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-tel" target="_blank">https://archive.today/20130629050105/http://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-reports/19-people-who-changed-face-wireline-telecom-industry/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-tel</a> <a href="#fnref:25" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:26"><p>"Cleyson Brown, founder of Brown Telephone, the precursor to Sprint Mobile | FierceTelecom". www.fiercetelecom.com. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="https://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-report/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-telephone-precursor-to-sprint" target="_blank">https://www.fiercetelecom.com/special-report/cleyson-brown-founder-brown-telephone-precursor-to-sprint</a> <a href="#fnref:26" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:27"><p>"Calling all phone fans: The Museum of Independent Telephony has your number". kansascity. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/living/travel/article20663538.html" target="_blank">https://www.kansascity.com/living/travel/article20663538.html</a> <a href="#fnref:27" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:28"><p>"Cleyson Brown 2001 - School of Business | Emporia State University". www.slim.emporia.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="http://www.slim.emporia.edu/business/community/kbhf/historical/cleyson-brown-2001.html" target="_blank">http://www.slim.emporia.edu/business/community/kbhf/historical/cleyson-brown-2001.html</a> <a href="#fnref:28" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:29"><p>"The Robinson Library, where knowledge unlocks a world of possibilities". www.robinsonlibrary.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2006. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20061024050425/http://www.robinsonlibrary.com/index.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20061024050425/http://www.robinsonlibrary.com/index.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:29" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:30"><p>Slaton, Hunter (2006-09-22). Vault Guide to the Top Telecom Employers. Vault Inc. ISBN 9781581314038. <a href="9781581314038" target="_blank">9781581314038</a> <a href="#fnref:30" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:31"><p>"Eisenhower Presidential Library". www.eisenhower.archives.gov. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="https://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/all_about_ike/abilene_years/ikes_abilene/us_sprint.html" target="_blank">https://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/all_about_ike/abilene_years/ikes_abilene/us_sprint.html</a> <a href="#fnref:31" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:32"><p>"Cleyson Brown 2001 - School of Business | Emporia State University". www.slim.emporia.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="http://www.slim.emporia.edu/business/community/kbhf/historical/cleyson-brown-2001.html" target="_blank">http://www.slim.emporia.edu/business/community/kbhf/historical/cleyson-brown-2001.html</a> <a href="#fnref:32" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:33"><p>"Cleyson Brown 2001 - School of Business | Emporia State University". www.slim.emporia.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="http://www.slim.emporia.edu/business/community/kbhf/historical/cleyson-brown-2001.html" target="_blank">http://www.slim.emporia.edu/business/community/kbhf/historical/cleyson-brown-2001.html</a> <a href="#fnref:33" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:34"><p>"Calling all phone fans: The Museum of Independent Telephony has your number". kansascity. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/living/travel/article20663538.html" target="_blank">https://www.kansascity.com/living/travel/article20663538.html</a> <a href="#fnref:34" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:35"><p>Zink, Adrian (2017-11-06). Hidden History of Kansas. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781625858894. <a href="9781625858894" target="_blank">9781625858894</a> <a href="#fnref:35" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:36"><p>"Calling all phone fans: The Museum of Independent Telephony has your number". kansascity. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/living/travel/article20663538.html" target="_blank">https://www.kansascity.com/living/travel/article20663538.html</a> <a href="#fnref:36" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:37"><p>Kathy Hageman. "A bridge to remember". Abilene Reflector Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="http://www.abilene-rc.com/news/a-bridge-to-remember/article_582e0d26-6f0b-11e8-a63b-eb9d5dd1449c.html" target="_blank">http://www.abilene-rc.com/news/a-bridge-to-remember/article_582e0d26-6f0b-11e8-a63b-eb9d5dd1449c.html</a> <a href="#fnref:37" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:38"><p>"Calling all phone fans: The Museum of Independent Telephony has your number". kansascity. Retrieved 2018-09-25. <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/living/travel/article20663538.html" target="_blank">https://www.kansascity.com/living/travel/article20663538.html</a> <a href="#fnref:38" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>