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B+History
History · Burlington

Burlington’s post office opened in 1887, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #21 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Elitch Gardens Carousel, a National Historic Landmark. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1890.

1887first post office
4on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Burlington’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Burlington began

When was Burlington founded?

1887

The Burlington post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 146 in 18902020 census: 3,172139 years

How historic is Burlington?

B+

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Burlington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Burlington’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Burlington is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #21 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Burlington’s overall grade.
Founding era1887, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194018.4% of homes (±6.3) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register4 listings, 5 historic buildings, 15.9 per 10,000 residents · typical CO town 1.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 65%
NewerOlder
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 87%

Few Colorado towns list much on the Register (a typical Colorado town has 1.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Burlington’s 15.9 sits above most of its state (76% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Burlington’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 4,254 in 2010; 3,172 people lived here in 2020.A National Historic Landmark4 places on the National Register, including Elitch Gardens Carousel, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Burlington’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewColorado [Adams County - Las Animas Cou…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Burlington, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,254

Peaked at 4,254 in 2010; 3,172 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

On the National Register

4 historic places in Burlington

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmark
1
Elitch Gardens Carousel
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Elitch Gardens Carousel
Burlington State Armory, built 1926Hudson, Sim, Motor Company, built 1932Burlington Gymnasium, built 1941Elitch Gardens Carousel★
BuildingsObjects★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Tudor1
Art Deco1
WPA Art Deco1
★ Landmark
Elitch Gardens CarouselObject
Burlington State ArmoryTudor · Built 1926
Hudson, Sim, Motor CompanyArt Deco · Built 1932
Burlington GymnasiumWPA Art Deco · Built 1941

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

The story

How Burlington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Burlington.

Read it all →

Burlington was originally laid out one mile west of its present location in 1887 by a man named Lowell in anticipation of the arrival of the railroad. In addition to having the location wrong, Lowell also did not have title to the land. When the railroad did arrive, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, it built its depot at the present site of Burlington and those who had built in Old Burlington moved their buildings to the new townsite.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Burlington, 1887 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Burlington post office opens
  3. 1892Born hereRobert P. Kerr is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1926BuiltBurlington State Armory is built
  6. 1932BuiltHudson, Sim, Motor Company is built
  7. 1940In the archiveColorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]
  8. 1941BuiltBurlington Gymnasium is built
  9. 1946Born hereLola Spradley is born here
  10. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1987LandmarkElitch Gardens Carousel named a National Historic Landmark
  12. 21st century
  13. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 4,254
By decade

Burlington, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s4 items
Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]1940Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]1940Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]Colorado - Alamosa through Cheyenne Mountain1943Colorado - Alamosa through Cheyenne MountainColorado - Alamosa through Cheyenne Mountain1943Colorado - Alamosa through Cheyenne Mountain
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today11 recent
Burlington, Colorado2019Burlington, ColoradoBurlington, Colorado welcome sign2019Burlington, Colorado welcome signBurlington, Colorado2014Burlington, ColoradoBurlington, Colorado2014Burlington, ColoradoBurlington Colorado 5-7-20142014Burlington Colorado 5-7-2014US - Colorado - Burlington -2005-10-16T2327242012US - Colorado - Burlington -2005-10-16T232724Sim Hudson Motor Company Left Front 22012Sim Hudson Motor Company Left Front 2Burlington State Armory 022012Burlington State Armory 02Burlington State Armory 012012Burlington State Armory 01Burlington State Armory 01 (cropped)2012Burlington State Armory 01 (cropped)AH-1 on display in front of the VFW Post in2007AH-1 on display in front of the VFW Post in
On the map

Burlington on the map, 1969 to 1984

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

Burlington on the 1969 USGS mapBurlington on the 1984 USGS map1969Burlington sheet · 1:24,000

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

Every building

Burlington, building by building, 1907–1913

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Burlington fire insurance map, 1907, sheet 11907Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]
Retake this viewColorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)], 1940

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Burlington’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Burlington

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Robert P. KerrFilm director, Actor, Screenwriter · b. 1892
Lola SpradleyAmerican politician · b. 1946
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Burlington’s post office has been open since 1887.

Gone or out of use
Burlington Municipal Airportairport
1cemetery inside Burlington
Fairview

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

Questions about Burlington’s history

What year was Burlington founded?

The Burlington post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Burlington rank for history?

Burlington is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #21 of 159 in Colorado. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Burlington?

4 listings: 3 buildings and 1 object. 5 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Burlington?

18% of Burlington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1972.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (15), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.