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History · Burns

Burns’ post office opened in 1880, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Burns Union School. Below: maps from 1898 on and the census since 1910.

1880first post office
1on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Burns began

When was Burns founded?

1880

The Burns post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 489 in 19102020 census: 234146 years
Founding year: the first Burns post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Burns’ 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 Burns are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1985. Watch Burns change.Boom and bustPeaked at 622 in 1920; 234 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Burns’ homes were built before 1940.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Burns’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Burns’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
On the map

Burns on the map, 1898 to 1985

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

Burns on the 1898 USGS mapBurns on the 1962 USGS mapBurns on the 1985 USGS map1898Cottonwood Falls sheet · 1:125,000

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

People over time

Burns, census by census

0100200300400500600192019401960198020002020Peak: 622

Peaked at 622 in 1920; 234 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Burns came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Burns.

Read it all →

In 1877, the Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad Company built a branch line from Florence to El Dorado, and a station called Burns was built north of the present city location. In 1881, the rail line was extended to Douglass, then later to Arkansas City. The line was leased and operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The line from Florence through Burns to El Dorado was abandoned in 1942. The original branch line connected Florence through El Dorado to Arkansas City.

ChaptersEarly history19th century20th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Burns, 1880 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Burns post office opens
  3. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1905BuiltBurns Union School is built
  6. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 622
By decade

Burns, decade by decade

Today8 recent
Stouffer's Railroad Map of Kansas 1915-1918 Marion County2013Stouffer's Railroad Map of Kansas 1915-1918 Marion Co…MapTruck Hauling 36-inch Pipe To Build Keystone XL Pipeline2010Truck Hauling 36-inch Pipe To Build Keystone XL Pipel…Burns United Methodist Church2010Burns United Methodist Church1905 Burns Union School20101905 Burns Union SchoolDetailed map of Marion County, Kansas2010Detailed map of Marion County, KansasMapDetailed map of2010Detailed map ofMapMap of Marion Co, Ks, USA2005Map of Marion Co, Ks, USAMapKSMap-doton-Burns2004KSMap-doton-Burns
On the National Register

1 historic place in Burns

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Burns Union School
Burns Union School, built 1905
Buildings
Burns Union SchoolBuilt 1905

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Burns

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

See all →
Roger MarshallAmerican politician · b. 1960
Mort WalkerAmerican comic strip cartoonist · b. 1923
Steve BrodieAmerican actor · b. 1919
Jack MarshallAmerican musician, conductor, composer · b. 1921
Maude FultonAmerican actress · b. 1881
Denise McCluggageAmerican racing driver · b. 1927

Questions about Burns’ history

What year was Burns founded?

The Burns post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Burns?

One place: the Burns Union School (listed 1975).

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 Wikimedia Commons (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.