MK Brown’s philanthropic contributions to Pampa cannot be understated.
MK Brown was Worshipful Master of Pampa Lodge No. 966 1914-1915
M K Brown’s contribution to Pampa and the surrounding area cannot be understated. A devoted member of the Pampa community, his philanthropy is visible everywhere in town.
Montagu Kingsmill Brown was born September 22, 1878, in the little village of Eastcote, Middlesex County, England, one of twelve children with an Irish mother and a British father. “Montie” as he was called was educated at a boarding school until the age of 15 when his father, a stockbroker, went broke. This ended his formal education. Later in life, he dedicated himself to providing the means for thousands of children to go to college who might not have otherwise been able to attend. His college scholarships which he gave through Pampa High School and various other channels were one of his numerous philanthropies throughout his lifetime. Through the creation of the M.K. Brown Foundation he was able to see that these many activities were carried on even after his death. The foundation still awards very generous scholarships every year at the annual awards assembly at Pampa High.
Mr. Brown was a veteran of the Boer War, serving in Africa. Upon returning home, his Uncle Andrew Kingsmill began trying to interest him in a vast new land in the southwest part of the United States, which he himself had visited. Located in the Texas Panhandle was an enterprise known as White Deer Lands. He succeeded in influencing his nephew Montie to change his plans for adventure elsewhere in the world for a trip to Texas, which was to become his home for the rest of his life.
He set out for the Panhandle of Texas where he arrived in April, 1903. He was employed by Mr. Hobart to work for White Deer Lands at a monthly salary of $25 which included room and board. He served as assistant to Mr. T D Hobart in the management of White Deer Lands and the JA Ranch near Clarendon, Texas. Later he was a co-manager of the White Deer Company along with Mr. C.P. Buckler.
M.K. Brown became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1915. He was a 32nd degree Mason, a member of Scottish Rite, and a charter member of the Pampa Rotary Club. He was also a member of Pampa’s first Masonic Lodge and served as a Master Mason more than 50 years. He was mayor of Pampa from 1913 to 1915, and was president of the Pampa Chamber of Commerce and Board of City Development in 1928. He was a stockholder and director of Southwestern Investment Co. for 33 years. He was elected a Life Member of Panhandle Plains Historical Society, and was a member of the Pampa Genealogical and Historical Society.
Mr. Brown was the recipient of the coveted Silver Beaver Award from the Adobe Walls Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and is the only person ever to receive the title of “Chief Scout” of the Adobe Walls Council, its highest honor. Through his generous contributions, the Adobe Walls Council Service Center was built in Pampa, as well as the Scout camp near Mobeetie, Texas. The camping facility was named “Camp M.K. Brown” in his honor.
MK and Josye Barnes were married August 29, 1922, in Ardmore, Oklahoma, her family home. She proceeded him in death in 1959.
His generosity to churches extended far beyond the construction of his own beloved St. Matthews Episcopal Church, and included gifts to all denominations as their needs became known to him. He preached the town’s first funeral rites, using his Anglican prayer book, and was mayor of Pampa when the town became the Gray county seat in 1928.
On September 10, 1964, he died from injuries received in a car collision in Pampa. Portions of his huge bequest were used to construct the M. K. Brown Memorial Civic Auditorium and to renovate the old White Deer land-office building into a county museum. Today the M K Brown Foundation continues his philanthropy, and White Deer Land Museum is a leading Museum in the Panhandle.
(sources-Gray County Heritage-Clotille Thompson & Montagu Kingsmill Brown, Handbook of Texas Online)
Montagu Kingsmill Brown fulfilled a promise he made to himself many years before his death:
“to give back to Texas and my own Gray County all that they have given to me. When I came here I had nothing. All that I have came from this wonderful country… and I plan to give it all back.”
And this he did.
An Honorable man and amazing philanthropist.
An exemplary Mason.