Brown County has retained the natural rugged features that characterized Indiana as a whole before the glaciers. Its hills and valleys remain in their natural state, unchanged by the mighty force of the great ice sheets. In Brown County the fine topsoil can be removed from the slopes by water, and the result is coarse, loose type of surface, excellent for the abundant growth of timber, ideal for fruit growing.

Brown County had a population of 10,308 in 1890; 9,727 in 1900; 7,975 in 1910; 7,019 in 1920; 5,168 in 1930. It has five townships with a combined area of 324 square miles.

Nashville, the County Seat, had a population of 369 in 1930. The character of the land makes railroad facilities impractical and it was not until 1906 that the Illinois Central Railroad , which ran 12 miles through the county, was built from Indianapolis to Effingham, Illinois, where it joined the main line from Chicago to New Orleans. Farming and fruit growing are the principle occupations.

Nashville is one of the state's recognized art centers. Beginning with the Gustav Baumann, the first artist to live there for any length of time, there has been an impressive parade of artistic, cultural, and literary notables. While Baumann lived in Nashville he made one of his famous series of wood blocks. Much credit went for the county's reputation as a Mecca for artists should be given to Adolph R. Shulz and Frank Phoenix, who, while on a walking trip in 1906, were favorably impressed, and carried the news to others. The next season found several renowned painters there.

Ten miles west of Nashville is the "House of the Singing Winds," established by Mr. and Mrs. T. C. Steele at the time of Gustav Baumann's stay. The Brown County Artists' Gallery in Nashville is maintained by the County Artists' Association. This gallery, outstanding in the state, is open from April until November. Its exhibits are changed frequently, and hung only upon approval of a committee of experts. Adjoining the gallery is the Artists' Shop, a modern craft shop with paintings, monotypes, etchings, and watercolors by members of the association. The Brown County Art Colony is the most important group of painters in the Middle West. From a small beginning it has grown to the point where an estimated 25,000 visit the gallery each year, with as many as 1,500 on a single day.

The region is dotted with studios and residences featuring paintings and art objects. At Bear Wallow Hill is the residence of Marcus Dickey, who wrote a number of books and articles on James Whitcomb Riley. Other features of the county are the Old Log Jail, at Nashville, erected in 1837; Pike's Peak, monument to the Civil War soldiers of Company C, Sixth Regiment; Old Settlers' Home, and the monument at the site of the first residence in the Spring, when the orchards are in bloom.

Brown County has a number of picturesque streams, and its forests augment the hill-county splendor. Sixteen thousand acres of the territory are occupied by the State Park and game preserve. The county had 1,204 farms, averaging 106.5 acres each, valued in 1935 at $2,122,980.