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History · Burlington Junction

Burlington Junction’s post office opened in 1879, and 51% of its homes were built before 1940

1879first post office
0on the National Register
51%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Americasroof · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Burlington Junction began

When was Burlington Junction founded?

1879

The Burlington Junction post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Cleaveland (1879), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

2020 census: 521147 years
Founding year: the first Burlington Junction post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Burlington Junction’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 Burlington Junction are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Burlington Junction’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Burlington Junction’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Burlington Junction’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
The story

How Burlington Junction came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Burlington Junction.

Read it all →

Burlington Junction was founded in 1879, and named for the junction between the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad and the Wabash Railroad near the original town site. A post office called Burlington Junction has been in operation since 1879, though for its first year it was called Cleveland.

Possum Walk Hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Burlington Junction, 1879 to 1943

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Burlington Junction post office opens
  3. 1879Post officeThe Cleaveland post office opens
  4. 1879Post officeThe Cleaveland post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1923Born hereBob Hendren is born here
  7. 1934Born hereWilliam M. Grace is born here
  8. 1941Born hereBill Tobin is born here
  9. 1943Born hereVince Tobin is born here
By decade

Burlington Junction, decade by decade

Today3 recent
MoRoute113northernterm2025MoRoute113northerntermCuyhogaCreekNodCoMO2025CuyhogaCreekNodCoMOBurlington-jct-mo2009Burlington-jct-mo
Famous people

4 famous people were born in Burlington Junction

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
B
Bill TobinAmerican football player and executive · b. 1941
Bob HendrenAmerican football player · b. 1923
V
Vince TobinAmerican football player and coach · b. 1943
W
William M. GraceAmerican businessman · b. 1934
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Burlington Junction’s post office has been open since 1879. Another post office, Cleaveland, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Burlington Junction
1879–today
Cleaveland
1879–1879
18701950today

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

Questions about Burlington Junction’s history

What year was Burlington Junction founded?

The Burlington Junction post office opened in 1879, 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 Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.