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History · Burr

Burr’s post office opened in 1888, and 65% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1910.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
65%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Burr began

When was Burr founded?

1888

The Burr post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Burr Oak (1869), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 113 in 19102020 census: 52138 years
Founding year: the first Burr post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Burr’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 are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Burr’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 263 in 1940; 52 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19034 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1986. Watch Burr change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Burr’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Burr’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 Burr came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Burr.

Read it all →

Burr was platted in the 1880s when the railroad was extended to that point. The community was named for the burr oak trees near the original town site.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Burr, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 263

Peaked at 263 in 1940; 52 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Timeline

Burr, 1869 to 1961

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869Post officeThe Burr Oak post office opens
  3. 1888Post officeThe Burr Oak post office closes
  4. 1888Post officeThe Burr post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 263
  8. 1961Born hereDean Steinkuhler is born here
By decade

Burr, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Burr, NE2017Burr, NENEMap-doton-Burr2005NEMap-doton-Burr
On the map

Burr on the map, 1903 to 1986

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

Burr on the 1903 USGS mapBurr on the 1929 USGS mapBurr on the 1966 USGS mapBurr on the 1986 USGS map1903Weeping Water 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.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Burr’s post office has been open since 1888. Another post office, Burr Oak, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Burr Oak
1869–1888
Burr
1888–today
18601940today

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

Questions about Burr’s history

What year was Burr founded?

The Burr post office opened in 1888, 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 (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) 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.