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History · Burns City

Burns City’s post office opened in 1890, and 52% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers and maps from 1950 on.

1890first post office
0on the National Register
52%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Burns City’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Burns City began

When was Burns City founded?

1890

The Burns City post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 114136 years
Founding year: the first Burns City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Burns City’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Burns City’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Burns City’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewEarthen dam with logs and debris from c…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Burns City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Burns City.

Read it all →

The town was founded as "Keck's Church" in 1849 by Christian Keck, an early settler. It became known as "Kecksville" circa 1852. The name was officially changed to Burns City on September 15, 1890. The present name was applied by a railroad engineer whose wife's maiden name was Burns.

A post office was established under the name "Keck's Church" in 1849, was renamed Burns City in 1890, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1957.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Burns City, 1937 to 1950

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1937In the archiveEarthen dam with logs and debris from cleaned land near Burns City, Indiana. Martin Compa…
  3. 1941In the archivePaul Sharpe, supervisor of FSA (Farm Security Administration) relocation project at Burns…
  4. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Burns City, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1940s3 items
Earthen dam with logs and debris from cleaned land near Burns City, Indiana. Martin Company development project1937Earthen dam with logs and debris from cleaned land ne…Paul Sharpe, supervisor of FSA (Farm Security Administration) relocation project at Burns City, Indiana, talking with t…1941Paul Sharpe, supervisor of FSA (Farm Security Adminis…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Paul Sharpe, supervisor of FSA (Farm Security Administration) relocation project a…1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Paul Sharpe, sup…
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
On the map

Burns City on the map, 1950 to 1974

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

Burns City on the 1950 USGS mapBurns City on the 1974 USGS map1950Odon 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 Burns City.

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.

Earthen dam with logs and debris from cleaned land near Burns City, Indiana. Martin Company development project
Retake this viewEarthen dam with logs and debris from cleaned land near Burns City, Indiana. Martin Company development project, 1937

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Burns City

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

See all →
D
Don HeroldCartoonist · b. 1889
B
Bill EndicottAmerican racing driver · b. 1876
C
Carolyn SherifAmerican psychologist · b. 1922
Earl WilsonAmerican politician · b. 1906
Oscar E. BlandAmerican politician · b. 1877
Gerald Wayne LandisAmerican politician · b. 1895

Questions about Burns City’s history

What year was Burns City founded?

The Burns City post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 the Library of Congress (3), Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.