History
Our History
EARLY YEARS (1634-1866)
The first generation of Brawners, Henry Brawner and Mary Brock Brawner, traveled to the Americas in 1634 and settled in Port Tobacco, Maryland where they acquired 300 acres of property. 200 years later, Henry Brawner’s lineal descendants ventured into real estate by developing his land into more profitable uses, including construction of Port Tobacco's historic Brawner Hotel.
In 1866, Henry Alexander Brawner had the foresight of realizing the imminent decline of Port Tobacco’s economy as a result of the Civil War and that Washington, D.C. and its environs was destined to grow rapidly for decades to come by virtue of its geographic location and its political heft as the capital city of the United States. With that in mind, Henry Alexander Brawner moved to Washington, D.C. and married Martha Tyler Waggaman, a lineal descendant of President John Tyler.
FOUNDATION OF THE BRAWNER COMPANY (1880s-1940s)
Waggaman & Brawner, Inc. was formed in the late 1880s as a result of a merger of the Brawner and Waggaman families. The Brawner Company's history is closely tied to that of Bromo-Seltzer, the well-known antacid drug invented by Isaac E. Emerson and produced by the Emerson Drug Company. On May 6, 1890, the United States Patent Office recorded an assignment by Isaac Emerson to a John F. Waggaman of Emerson's interest in Bromo-Seltzer, Patent No. 9660 D 90 and a one-half registered interest in the trademark "Bromo Seltzer." The development of Bromo-Seltzer and Emerson Drug Company would prove vital in the early success of The Brawner Company.
The company capitalized on the revenue generated from the family's interests in Bromo-Seltzer. In the early years, the company was led by John Waggaman Brawner, son of Henry Alexander Brawner. In addition to being executive vice president of the Emerson Drug Company and Vice President of Lincoln National Bank, John Waggaman Brawner helped build the company's reputation as a preeminent builder and developer of quality real estate projects throughout Washington. Out of respect for John Waggaman Brawner's contributions to the City of Washington, the Washington Stock Exchange adjourned trading on Friday, January 15, 1929 following news of his death.
At only 23 years of age, John Floyd Brawner assumed his father's position in the company and was elected soon after to the Board of Directors of the Lincoln National Bank and Emerson Drug Company. The company endured a period of conservative growth during the Great Depression by diversifying its real estate business into property management, brokerage, real estate lending and insurance services. During this time, the company was financially well positioned and acquired a significant amount of premier property in and around Washington, D.C.
GROWTH YEARS (1950s-Present)
In the late 1950s, John F Brawner and his two sons, William T. Brawner and John W Brawner II, purchased the Waggaman family's interest in the company, thus changing the name to Brawner Properties, Inc. following a mutual decision amongst the families to pursue individual investments. In 1994, Brawner Properties, Inc. and numerous affiliated companies were consolidated to form The Brawner Company. This streamlined ownership of the company has enabled the Brawner family to exercise complete control over one of the oldest family-owned and operated real estate businesses in the nation's capital.
Such as their grandfather and his father before, William T. Brawner and John W. Brawner II learned the family real estate business from their father John F. Brawner. William T. Brawner was the primary developer, assembling the land needed to develop the properties. John W. Brawner II was the builder, constructing residential homes and other properties. Together they made a formidable team and added significant value to the company's reputation and bottom line.
Over the past sixty years, The Brawner Company has experienced tremendous growth by concentrating its investment activities in acquiring and developing commercial and residential properties throughout Washington, Northern Virginia and in both Montgomery and Kent County, Maryland. These developed, owned and managed properties total approximately 1.5 million square feet of commercial office and retail space, 700 multi-family for rent or sale units and 250 single-family homes. In addition, The Brawner Company owns Haven Harbour Marina Resorts, two full-service marinas and 19-room inn and event venue located in Rock Hall, Maryland, as well as nearby Humphrey's Point Farm, a 20-acre estate overlooking Swan Creek.
Today, The Brawner Company is headed by James E. Brawner, son of William T. Brawner, and is leading the charge in vertical integration by providing leasing, management, accounting, financing, project management and other related disciplines entirely in-house.
