The story
Read it all →How Burke came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Burke.
Burke was laid out in 1904 and incorporated in 1906. It was named for congressman Charles H. Burke.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Burke
Burke’s post office opened in 1904, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940
Its Register listing is the Gregory County Courthouse. Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1910.
1904first post office
1on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Quick answers
How Burke began, and where its name came from
When was Burke founded?
1904
The Burke post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 311 in 19102020 census: 575122 years
How did Burke get its name?
Burke was named for congressman Charles H. Burke.
Founding year: the first Burke post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
What stands out about Burke’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Burke’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Burke’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Burke, census by census
Peaked at 892 in 1970; 575 people lived here in 2020.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Burke’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Burke, 1904 to 1984
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Burke, decade by decade
Today1 recent
2004On the map
Burke on the map, 1964 to 1986
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Burke. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1964Burke sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Burke.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Burke
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2021
Gregory County Courthouse
Buildings
All 1 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →5 famous people were born in Burke
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Questions about Burke’s history
What year was Burke founded?
The Burke post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Burke?
One place: the Gregory County Courthouse (listed 2021).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.