Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Burr Oak

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Burr Oak SchoolBurr Oak School · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0
–Not graded
History · Burr Oak

Burr Oak’s post office opened in 1871, and 51% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Burr Oak School and the Burr Oak United Methodist Church. Below: maps from 1886 on and the census since 1880.

1871first post office
2on the National Register
51%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Burr Oak began, and where its name came from

When was Burr Oak founded?

1871

The Burr Oak post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 425 in 18802020 census: 140155 years

How did Burr Oak get its name?

Burr Oak was named from the Burr Oak Creek.

Founding year: the first Burr Oak post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Burr Oak’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 Burr Oak are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18943 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1985. Watch Burr Oak change.Old housesHalf of Burr Oak’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 746 in 1910; 140 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Burr Oak’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Burr Oak’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

Burr Oak on the map, 1894 to 1985

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

Burr Oak on the 1894 USGS mapBurr Oak on the 1968 USGS mapBurr Oak on the 1985 USGS map1894Mankato 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 Burr Oak.

The story

How Burr Oak came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Burr Oak.

Read it all →

Burr Oak was laid out in 1871, and it was incorporated as a city in 1880. It was named from the Burr Oak Creek.

The first post office in Burr Oak was established in June 1871.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Burr Oak, 1871 to 1923

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Burr Oak post office opens
  3. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 746
  6. 1912BuiltBurr Oak United Methodist Church is built
  7. 1923Born hereClair L. Gleason is born here
By decade

Burr Oak, decade by decade

Today1 recent
KSMap-doton-Burr Oak2004KSMap-doton-Burr Oak
Every building

Burr Oak, building by building, 1886–1911

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Burr Oak fire insurance map, 1886, sheet 11886Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Burr Oak

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
2005
Burr Oak School
Burr Oak SchoolBurr Oak United Methodist Church, built 1912
Buildings
Burr Oak SchoolBuilding
Burr Oak United Methodist ChurchBuilt 1912

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

People over time

Burr Oak, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 746

Peaked at 746 in 1910; 140 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Burr Oak’s post office has been open since 1871.

Gone or out of use
Burr Oak High Schoolschool

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

Questions about Burr Oak’s history

What year was Burr Oak founded?

The Burr Oak post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Burr Oak?

Two places: the Burr Oak School (listed 2005) and the Burr Oak United Methodist Church (2007).

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 (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.