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History · Burkeville

Burkeville’s post office opened in 1829, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: maps from 1910 on and the census since 1880.

1829first post office
1on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Burkeville began

When was Burkeville founded?

1829

The Burkeville post office opened in 1829, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 237 in 18802020 census: 417197 years
Founding year: the first Burkeville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Burkeville’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 Burkeville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 755 in 1930; 417 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1829: 197 years of Burkeville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Burkeville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Burkeville’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

Burkeville, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 755

Peaked at 755 in 1930; 417 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Timeline

Burkeville, 1829 to 1958

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1829Post officeThe Burkeville post office opens
  3. 1897Born hereFred Guy is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 755
  6. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Burkeville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Burkeville.

Read it all →

Burkeville was named either for a tavern or for a Samuel Burke, and was formerly called "Burke's Junction". It was founded at the junction of the Richmond and Danville Railroad and the Southside Railroad in the mid-nineteenth century. The Southside became the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad in 1870, then a line in the Norfolk and Western Railway, and finally a line in the Norfolk Southern Railway.

The rail line from Burkeville to Pamplin City, after being abandoned, was converted by the Virginia Department of Parks and Recreation into High Bridge Trail State Park. The state of Virginia has still yet to complete the portion from approximately 1 mile out into the town of Burkeville as of July 1, 2023.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Burkeville, decade by decade

Today17 recent
Burke's Tavern from southeast2016Burke's Tavern from southeastYVR Burkeville, Richmond2010YVR Burkeville, RichmondYVR Burkeville, Richmond2010YVR Burkeville, RichmondWatts Auto Service2010Watts Auto ServiceBurkeville, Virginia2010Burkeville, VirginiaBurkeville, Virginia - panoramio (3)2010Burkeville, Virginia - panoramio (3)Burkeville, Virginia - panoramio (2)2010Burkeville, Virginia - panoramio (2)Burkeville, Virginia - panoramio (1)2010Burkeville, Virginia - panoramio (1)Burkeville, VA 23922, USA2010Burkeville, VA 23922, USABurkeville, VA 23922, USA - panoramio (3)2010Burkeville, VA 23922, USA - panoramio (3)Burkeville, VA 23922, USA - panoramio (2)2010Burkeville, VA 23922, USA - panoramio (2)Burkeville, VA 23922, USA - panoramio (1)2010Burkeville, VA 23922, USA - panoramio (1)Burkeville Town Office2010Burkeville Town OfficeBurkeville Market2010Burkeville MarketBurkeville Market - panoramio (1)2010Burkeville Market - panoramio (1)Burkeville Depot2010Burkeville Depot1, VA, USA20101, VA, USA
On the map

Burkeville on the map, 1958 to 1987

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

Burkeville on the 1958 USGS mapBurkeville on the 1968 USGS mapBurkeville on the 1974 USGS mapBurkeville on the 1987 USGS map1958Crewe 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 Burkeville.

Every building

Burkeville, building by building, 1910–1921

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 year, then a sheet.

Burkeville fire insurance map, 1910, sheet 11910Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Burkeville

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1999
Inverness
Inverness
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1
InvernessClassical Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Questions about Burkeville’s history

What year was Burkeville founded?

The Burkeville post office opened in 1829, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Burkeville?

One place: the Inverness (listed 1999).

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 (17), 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), 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.