6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1935 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1835.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Burnsville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Burnsville is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Burnsville’s overall grade.
North Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical North Carolina town has 12.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Burnsville’s 72.0 sits above most of its state (71% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 15 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.6 points). Two sources give 1834.
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 Burnsville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town was founded on March 6, 1834, from land conveyed by John "Yellow Jacket" Bailey, and it was named after Captain Otway Burns, a naval hero of the War of 1812. In 1909, a statue of Captain Burns was given to the town by his grandson, Walter Francis Burns Sr., and it was set on a granite pedestal in the center of the town square. It has an inscription that reads, in part, "He Guarded Well Our Seas, Let Our Mountains Honor Him." Due to damages, the original statue was replaced in the early 2000s.
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.
In 1834, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Burnsville’s post office opened in 1835, and the census of 1900 counted 207 people here.
How does Burnsville rank for history?
Burnsville is more historic than 83% 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 Burnsville?
6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Yancey County Courthouse (listed 1979, the first), and 1 historic district, the Yancey Collegiate Institute Historic District, with 7 contributing buildings. 15 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Burnsville?
16% of Burnsville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.6 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (9), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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) 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.
1950s
c. 1970
Date?
2020
