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History · Burke

Burke dates to 1881

Most of Burke was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987.

1881founded
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Burke began

When was Burke founded?

1881

Burke dates its founding to 1881 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1886.

2020 census: 691145 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1886.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.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Burke are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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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.
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The story

How Burke came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Burke.

Read it all →

Burke was founded in 1881 when construction of the Houston, East and West Texas Railway reached the western edge of Bradley Prairie. The town was originally named Rhodes, for general store owner W. R. Rhodes and postmaster H. R. Rhodes, but circa 1885 it was renamed for Edmund L. Burke, a railroad employee who directed the railroad survey.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Burke, 1875 to 1905

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875Born hereI. D. Fairchild is born here
  3. 1881
    FoundingBurke is established
  4. 1886Post officeThe Burke post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1905Post officeThe Burke post office closes
By decade

Burke, decade by decade

Today1 recent
TXMap-doton-Burke2004TXMap-doton-Burke
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Burke had its own post office from 1886 to 1905.

Burke
1886–1905
18801950today

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

Questions about Burke’s history

What year was Burke founded?

In 1881, according to Wikidata. Burke’s post office opened in 1886.

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, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.