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History · Burdette

Burdette’s post office opened in 1903, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 5 buildings. Below: maps from 1939 on and the census since 1920.

1903first post office
3on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Burdette began

When was Burdette founded?

1903

The Burdette post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 100 in 19202020 census: 140123 years
Founding year: the first Burdette post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Burdette’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Burdette are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 328 in 1980; 140 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Burdette’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Burdette’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Burdette, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 328

Peaked at 328 in 1980; 140 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Burdette’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Burdette came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Burdette.

Read it all →

Burdette has its origins as a company town established by the Three States Lumber Company in the early 1900s. Incorporated in 1905, the town was named for Alfred Burdette Wolverton, an early logger in the area. Three States completed a large sawmill in Burdette in 1906. In 1907, the Blytheville, Burdette and Mississippi River Railway was formed to build a line from Wolverton Landing, on the Mississippi River, northward to Blytheville. This line also included a branch to Burdette.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Burdette, 1903 to 1980

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1903Post officeThe Burdette post office opens
  3. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 328
By decade

Burdette, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Three States Lumber2020Three States LumberChris Tompkins House2020Chris Tompkins HouseBurdette-water-tower-ar2018Burdette-water-tower-arBurdette-town-hall-ar2018Burdette-town-hall-arBurdette-pond-ar2018Burdette-pond-arBurdette-Farms-and-post-office-ar2018Burdette-Farms-and-post-office-arARMap-doton-Burdette2005ARMap-doton-Burdette
On the map

Burdette on the map, 1939 to 1972

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Burdette. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Burdette on the 1939 USGS mapBurdette on the 1955 USGS mapBurdette on the 1972 USGS map1939Blytheville sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Burdette.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Burdette

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
2001
Chris Tompkins House
Chris Tompkins HouseBurdette School Complex Historic DistrictThree States Lumber Company Mill Powerhouse
BuildingsDistricts
Chris Tompkins HouseBuilding
All 3 listings
Burdette School Complex Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2001Three States Lumber Company Mill PowerhouseBuilding · listed 2001

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Burdette

Nobody well known was born in Burdette itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
E
Ed BruceAmerican country music songwriter and singer · b. 1939
K
Kimberly DerrickShort-track speed skater · b. 1985
Junior WalkerAmerican saxophonist · b. 1931
Tommy CashAmerican country singer · b. 1940
C
Cortez KennedyPlayer of American football · b. 1968
Dee ClarkAmerican musician · b. 1938
Places that used to be

Old corners

Burdette’s post office has been open since 1903.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Tuckertown

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Burdette’s history

What year was Burdette founded?

The Burdette post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Burdette?

Three places: the Chris Tompkins House (listed 2001), the Burdette School Complex Historic District (2001) and the Three States Lumber Company Mill Powerhouse (2001).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (7), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.