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History · Burton Township

Burton Township dates to 1836, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1925 on.

1836founded
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Burton Township began

When was Burton Township founded?

1836

Burton Township dates its founding to 1836 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1840.

2020 census: 929190 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1840.

What stands out about Burton Township’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 Burton Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Burton Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1836: 190 years of Burton Township.On the map since 19253 editions of the USGS map, 1925 to 1995. Watch Burton Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Burton Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Burton Township’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
Places that used to be

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

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Burton
1840–1922
Adams
1850–1956
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AdamsBurton
Gone or out of use
Douglas SchoolschoolIndependent SchoolschoolLivingston SchoolschoolOregon SchoolschoolTandy Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Burton Township
BurtonIndependenceKimmonsNewtonTandy

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

Timeline

Burton Township, 1836 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1836
    FoundingBurton Township is established
  3. 1840Post officeThe Burton post office opens
  4. 1850Post officeThe Adams post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1922Post officeThe Burton post office closes
  7. 1925On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1956Post officeThe Adams post office closes
The story so far

Burton Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Burton Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Burton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Adams County approximately four miles east of Quincy. As of the 2020 census, Burton had a population of 103. Burton was platted ca. 1836. A post office called Burton was established in 1840, and remained in operation until 1922.

Burton Township was established in 1836. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 909 to 929 (+2%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Burton Township on the map, 1925 to 1995

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

Burton Township on the 1925 USGS mapBurton Township on the 1981 USGS mapBurton Township on the 1995 USGS map1925Liberty 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 Burton Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Burton Township

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

See all →
Mary AstorAmerican actress and author · b. 1906
Paul TibbetsUnited States Air Force pilot · b. 1915
John W. HenryAmerican businessman · b. 1949
Robert LivingstonAmerican actor · b. 1904
A
Allan NevinsAmerican historian and journalist · b. 1890
Ralph WorksAmerican baseball player · b. 1888
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Liberty TownshipIts storyBGilmer TownshipIts storyC+Payson TownshipIts storyBMelrose TownshipIts storyC−

Questions about Burton Township’s history

What year was Burton Township founded?

In 1836, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Burton Township’s post office opened in 1840.

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.