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History · Winburne

Winburne’s post office opened in 1889, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1922 on.

1889first post office
0on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Winburne began

When was Winburne founded?

1889

The Winburne post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name.

137 years
Founding year: the first Winburne post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Winburne’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 Winburne are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Winburne’s homes were built before 1953.On the map since 19227 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 1994. Watch Winburne change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Winburne’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Winburne’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Winburne came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Winburne.

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It is unclear exactly when Winburne was founded, but we can estimate it between 1885 and 1886. One of the first persons to arrive at Winburne was Gust Adolph Johnson who of which built one of the first three homes on Winburne. Another prominent citizen of Winburne was Burton/Berten Merritt who came to Winburne in 1884.

James L. Sommerville a leader in the community came to the area in 1888. He was president of Bituminous National Bank, postmaster, superintendent of the school, and named the town.

Winburne was coined after the Wynn family that lived in the surrounding area, and "burn" being Scottish for stream. Wynnburn was the original spelling until October 5, 1889 when the post office changed the name to Winburne.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Winburne on the map, 1922 to 1994

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

Winburne on the 1922 USGS mapWinburne on the 1939 USGS mapWinburne on the 1945 USGS mapWinburne on the 1959 USGS mapWinburne on the 1971 USGS mapWinburne on the 1981 USGS mapWinburne on the 1994 USGS map1922Philipsburg sheet · 1:62,500

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

By decade

Winburne, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Untitled photo2022Untitled photo
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Cooper Township1 historic placeA−Rush Township5 historic placesA+CasanovaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLanseIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Winburne’s history

What year was Winburne founded?

The Winburne post office opened in 1889, 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 →
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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 and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.