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A−History
History · Burlingame Township

Burlingame Township dates to 1855, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Schuyler Grade School and the Samuel Hunt Grave. Below: maps from 1952 on and the census since 1870.

1855founded
2on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Burlingame Township began

When was Burlingame Township founded?

1855

Burlingame Township dates its founding to 1855 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 655 in 18702020 census: 1,704171 years

How historic is Burlingame Township?

A−

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Burlingame Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Burlingame Township is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Burlingame Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1855, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194039.5% of homes (±7.3) · typical KS town 10.3% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register2 listings, 12.4 per 10,000 residents · typical KS town 5.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 75%
NewerOlder

Kansas towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kansas town has 5.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Burlingame Township’s 12.4 sits above most of its state (67% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±7.3 points). Two sources give 1855.

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 Burlingame 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 Burlingame Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,472 in 1890; 971 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Burlingame Township’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Burlingame Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Burlingame 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
People over time

Burlingame Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,472

Peaked at 1,472 in 1890; 971 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

The story

How Burlingame Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Burlingame Township.

Read it all →

Burlingame was originally established as Council City and was a stop on the Santa Fe Trail. The Council City post office was opened on April 30, 1855. The wide brick main street, Santa Fe Avenue, was built wide enough for an oxen team to be able to make a U-turn. The city and post office name was changed from Council City to Burlingame on January 30, 1858, in honor of Anson Burlingame.

During the Civil War, the townspeople constructed a stone fort in the town center. Burlingame's Fort was torn down after the war.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Burlingame Township, 1855 to 1952

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855
    FoundingBurlingame Township is established
  3. 1881Post officeThe Stormont post office opens
  4. 1887Post officeThe Stormont post office closes
  5. 1890CensusPopulation peaks at 1,472
  6. 20th century
  7. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Burlingame Township, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Pond in2021Pond inBurlingame kansas post office 20092009Burlingame kansas post office 2009Burlingame kansas city hall2009Burlingame kansas city hallKSMap-doton-Burlingame2005KSMap-doton-Burlingame
On the map

Burlingame Township on the map, 1952 to 1972

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

Burlingame Township on the 1952 USGS mapBurlingame Township on the 1972 USGS map1952Burlingame 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 Burlingame Township.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Burlingame Township

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Samuel Hunt Grave
Schuyler Grade SchoolSamuel Hunt Grave
BuildingsSites
Schuyler Grade SchoolBuilding
All 2 listings
Samuel Hunt GraveSite · listed 1995

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Stormont, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gone or out of use
GrandviewlocaleStormontlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Burlingame Township
Burlingame CityPrairie Center

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.

Plumb TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDragoon TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAuburn Township3 historic placesC+Scranton TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about Burlingame Township’s history

What year was Burlingame Township founded?

In 1855, according to Wikidata. Burlingame Township’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1870 counted 655 people here.

How does Burlingame Township rank for history?

Burlingame Township is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns. 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 Burlingame Township?

Two places: the Schuyler Grade School (listed 2011) and the Samuel Hunt Grave (1995).

How old are the homes in Burlingame Township?

40% of Burlingame Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1958.

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 (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.