Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Burlington

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
–Not graded
History · Burlington

Burlington’s post office opened in 1900, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1919 on and the census since 1910.

1900first post office
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Burlington began

When was Burlington founded?

1900

The Burlington post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 135 in 19102020 census: 124126 years
Founding year: the first Burlington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).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 writtenNo old photos of Burlington are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 206 in 1980; 124 people lived here in 2020.
★ 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
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Burlington, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 206

Peaked at 206 in 1980; 124 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Burlington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Burlington.

Read it all →

Originally the town of Burlington was named "Drumm", for prominent cattle rancher Major Andrew Drumm. Major Drumm had operated the 150,000 acre U Ranch in the area from 1874 until 1888 on land leased from the Cherokees and was a founder of the Cherokee Strip Live Stock Association. Drumm was also the founder of the Andrew Drumm Institute in Independence Missouri.

Its post office was established under the name Drumm on June 6, 1906. But when the initial plans in July 1907 to rename the town "Wheaton" fell through, the town's name was officially changed to Burlington on August 21 of that year, which it remains to this day.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Burlington, 1900 to 1980

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900Post officeThe Burlington post office opens
  3. 1902Post officeThe Burlington post office closes
  4. 1907Post officeThe Burlington post office opens
  5. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 206
By decade

Burlington, decade by decade

Today1 recent
OKMap-doton-Burlington2004OKMap-doton-Burlington
On the map

Burlington on the map, 1969 to 1990

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

Burlington on the 1969 USGS mapBurlington on the 1985 USGS mapBurlington on the 1990 USGS map1969Burlington sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Burlington.

Every building

Burlington, building by building, 1919

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 sheet.

Burlington fire insurance map, 1919, sheet 11919Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Burlington

Nobody well known was born in Burlington itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Martina McBrideAmerican country singer · b. 1966
Jack GingUnited States actor and sportsman · b. 1931
Wayne GlasgowAmerican basketball player · b. 1926
Dennis MooreAmerican politician · b. 1945
Orville BrownAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1908
M
Marilyn MasonAmerican organist and music educator · b. 1925
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Burlington had its own post office from 1900 to 1902.

Burlington
1900–1902
Burlington
1907–today
19001960today

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

Questions about Burlington’s history

What year was Burlington founded?

The Burlington post office opened in 1900, 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 (1), Wikipedia, 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.