History · Burlington

Burlington dates to 1806, and 6 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns · #140 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it

Most of Burlington was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1820.

1806founded

6on the National Register

9%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

3famous people

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From Burlington’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Burlington began

When was Burlington founded?

1806

Burlington dates its founding to 1806 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 1,360 in 1820220 years

How historic is Burlington?

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1808.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 59% of U.S. towns, #140 of 155 in Connecticut. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Burlington’s overall grade.

Founding era1806, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 19408.5% of homes (±3.1) · typical CT town 15.1% · U.S. 8.4%C⁺National Register6 listings, 13 historic buildings, 13.4 per 10,000 residents · typical CT town 73.3 · U.S. 2.4B⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 59%

NewerOlder

Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 10%

Connecticut towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Connecticut town has 73.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Burlington’s 13.4 sits below most of its state (17% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 13 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points). Two sources give 1806.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18924 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1984. Watch Burlington change.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.Deep rootsEstablished in 1806: 220 years of Burlington.

★ 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 viewNew Hartford Branch in Burlington, Conn…: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

On the map

Burlington on the map, 1892 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.

1892Granby 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 Burlington.

On the National Register

6 historic places in Burlington

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

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1972

Brown Tavern

BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival2

Federal1

Colonial Cape1

Italianate1

Vernacular1

Brown TavernBuilding

Gridley-Parsons-Staples HomesteadBuilding

John Wiard HouseBuilding

Treadwell HouseFederal

Hart's Corner Historic DistrictColonial Cape

All 6 listings

Hitchcock-Schwarzmann MillBuilding · listed 1977

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 →

The area that includes present-day Burlington was originally inhabited by the Tunxis tribe.

The town was once part of larger Farmington Plantation. In 1785, it split away and became a part of the town of Bristol. On June 16, 1806, Burlington became a town in its own right. Cottage industries flourished in the early decades of the town, including multiple clock-making operations. Upon the completion of the Farmington Canal in 1829, many industries ceased operations or moved to neighboring towns.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Burlington in 1906

Passages that mention Burlington, cut from the printed page as they were published.

west schoolhouse, and afterward when the weather permitted out-of-doors, the schoolhouse being too small to accomniodate the worshippers. "The first camp-meeting held in Burlington was held a little west of the stone house. In i8og, the church rented a large dwelling-house near the school, called t… — **Burlington, Connecticut**1906Read the page →
Read the text
west schoolhouse, and afterward when the weather permitted out-of-doors, the schoolhouse being too small to accomniodate the worshippers. "The first camp-meeting held in Burlington was held a little west of the stone house. In i8og, the church rented a large dwelling-house near the school, called the Bunnell house, tore out the partitions so as to throw the entire first story together, and fitiished it with [)ulpit and seats. This accommodated the people till
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

apron-strings of old Farmington, mother of towns, and its youth under the slightly irritating guardianship of Bristol, came to its full maturity as the independent, self-governing town of Burlington. At the census of 18 10 it had a population of 1,457, thirty-nine more than Bristol, and more than i… — **Burlington, Connecticut**1906Read the page →
Read the text
apron-strings of old Farmington, mother of towns, and its youth under the slightly irritating guardianship of Bristol, came to its full maturity as the independent, self-governing town of Burlington. At the census of 18 10 it had a population of 1,457, thirty-nine more than Bristol, and more than it has had at any census since. There was a steady decline of population shown by every census till i860, when the number was
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Burlington, 1797 to 1907

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

18th century
1797Born hereLeonidas Lent Hamline is born here
19th century
1806
FoundingBurlington is established
1808Born hereWilliam J. Phelps is born here
1808Post officeThe Burlington post office opens
1836Born hereElijah W. Bacon is born here
1887Post officeThe Whigville post office opens
1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
20th century
1900Post officeThe Whigville post office closes
1907In the archiveNew Hartford Branch in Burlington, Connecticut - postcard
1907Post officeThe Burlington post office closes

By decade

Burlington, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item

New Hartford Branch in Burlington, Connecticut - postcard

1907–1915New Hartford Branch in Burlington, Connecticut - post…Postcard

1910s–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

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.

Retake this viewNew Hartford Branch in Burlington, Connecticut - postcard, 1907–1915

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

People over time

Burlington, census by census

Grew from 1,360 people in 1820 to 9,519 in 2020, 6 times over.

19 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Burlington

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

See all →

Elijah W. BaconMedal of Honor recipient · b. 1836

Leonidas Lent HamlineAmerican bishop · b. 1797

William J. PhelpsAmerican politician · b. 1808

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Burlington had its own post office from 1808 to 1907. Another post office, Whigville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Burlington

1808–1907

Whigville

1887–1900

18001910today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Lamson CornerWhigville

Gone or out of use

Mountain Meadow Airstripairport

5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Burlington

Burlington CenterCaseLamson CornerMilford StreetSeventh Day Baptist

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Avon2 historic placesC Collinsville2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Harwinton3 historic placesA Canton3 historic placesA Bristol17 historic placesA⁻Farmington10 historic placesA⁻New Hartford5 historic placesA⁺

Questions about Burlington’s history

What year was Burlington founded?

In 1806, according to Wikidata. Burlington’s post office opened in 1808, and the census of 1820 counted 1,360 people here.

How does Burlington rank for history?

Burlington is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #140 of 155 in Connecticut. 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?

6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Brown Tavern (listed 1972, the first), and 1 historic district, the Hart's Corner Historic District, with 7 contributing buildings. 13 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Burlington?

9% of Burlington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 (24), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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