More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #421 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Burkburnett was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1915 on, and the census since 1920.
From Burkburnett’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Burkburnett began
When was Burkburnett founded?
1907
The Burkburnett post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1923. Another post office, Gilbert (1882), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 5,300 in 19202020 census: 10,939119 years
How historic is Burkburnett?
D
More historic than 13% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Burkburnett post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1923.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Burkburnett’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Burkburnett is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #421 of 642 in Texas. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Burkburnett’s overall grade.
Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Burkburnett’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (34% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1923 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Burkburnett’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Originally settled by ranchers as early as 1856, this community was known by some locals as Nesterville. By 1880, the town had a small store with a population of 132. From 1882 until 1903, a post office operated there under the designation Gilbert, named after the North Texas pioneer Mabel Gilbert. In 1906, a nearby wealthy rancher named Samuel Burk Burnett sold more than 16,000 acres (65 km2) of his land in northern Wichita County to a group of investors who were seeking to extend into the wheat-growing area of Western Oklahoma the Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway, one of the Frank Kell/Joseph A. Kemp properties based in Wichita Falls.
The Burkburnett post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1923.
How does Burkburnett rank for history?
Burkburnett is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #421 of 642 in Texas. 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.
How old are the homes in Burkburnett?
5% of Burkburnett’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (8), the Library of Congress (4), 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.
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