The story
Read it all →How Burlington came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Burlington.
Burlington was platted in 1842 and incorporated as a village in 1869.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Burlington
Burlington’s post office opened in 1838, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1918 on, and the census since 1880.
1838first post office
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Quick answers
How Burlington began
When was Burlington founded?
1838
The Burlington post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1842.
First census: 328 in 18802020 census: 281188 years
Founding year: the first Burlington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1842.The full story ↓
What stands out about Burlington’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 405 in 2000; 281 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19184 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1982. Watch Burlington change.Deep rootsA post office since 1838: 188 years of Burlington.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Burlington’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Burlington’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Burlington, census by census
Peaked at 405 in 2000; 281 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Burlington’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Burlington on the map, 1918 to 1982
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Burlington. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1918Union City sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Burlington.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Burlington in 1913
Passages that mention Burlington, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Calhoun county, Michigan1913 · page 175Read the page →
Read the text
\'lLI,A(iE DF HrRI,IX(iT(lN The village of Burlington was surveyed and platted by William and Ansel Adams in 1842, and incorporated in 1869. The fii-st frame house was built by these brothers and which they and their mother occupied.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Calhoun county, Michigan1913 · page 155Read the page →
Read the text
Burlington was laid out as a village in 1842, but five years before a log school house had been built where the present frame house now stands and JMary Buckingham was the teacher. In 1838 the district was legally organized by the board of school inspectors consisting of E. A. Hayden, Jonah Bradish and Lorenzo Escanback.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Burlington, 1918 to 2000
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 20th century
- 1918
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1986
In the archiveFred's Barber Shop - 21st century
- 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 405
By decade
Burlington, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1980s2 items
19861990snothing 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 albumThen & 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.
Retake this viewFred's Barber Shop, 1986
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Burlington’s page.
Retake this view · +15Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Burlington
Nobody well known was born in Burlington itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
J
Jason NewstedAmerican musician · b. 1963
Questions about Burlington’s history
What year was Burlington founded?
The Burlington post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1842.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.