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AHistory
History · Burlington

Burlington’s post office opened in 1839, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 92% of U.S. towns · #31 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 217 buildings between them. Below: 33 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1860.

1839first post office
4on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
33old photos & papers
12famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Burlington’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Burlington began

When was Burlington founded?

1839

The Burlington post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1886.

First census: 993 in 18602020 census: 11,047187 years

How historic is Burlington?

A

More historic than 92% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Burlington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1886.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Burlington’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Burlington is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #31 of 362 in Wisconsin. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Burlington’s overall grade.
Founding era1839, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194019.2% of homes (±4.9) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register4 listings, 219 historic buildings, 199 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 92%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 92%

Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Burlington’s 199 sits above most of its state (97% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 219 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1886.

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 Burlington’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos33 old photos, postcards and papers, 1907–1968.A historic districtThe Kane Street Historic District takes in 137 historic buildings.On the map since 18934 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1971. Watch Burlington change.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1887 to 1920, drew every building in Burlington.
★ What stands out · By decade

Burlington, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s28 items
Mill Dam1907Mill DamThe Mill Dam1907The Mill DamFox River Bridge1907Fox River BridgeBelow the Mill Dam1907Below the Mill DamHABS WIS,51-BURL,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Immaculate Conception Church1933HABS WIS,51-BURL,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Immaculate Conce…HABS WIS,51-BURL,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Immaculate Conception Church1933HABS WIS,51-BURL,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Immaculate Conce…HABS WIS,51-BURL,1- (sheet 1 of 2) - Immaculate Conception Church1933HABS WIS,51-BURL,1- (sheet 1 of 2) - Immaculate Conce…HABS WIS,51-BURL,1- (sheet 1 of 2) - Immaculate Conception Church1933HABS WIS,51-BURL,1- (sheet 1 of 2) - Immaculate Conce…HABS WIS,51-BURL,1- (sheet 2 of 2) - Immaculate Conception Church1933HABS WIS,51-BURL,1- (sheet 2 of 2) - Immaculate Conce…HABS WIS,51-BURL,1- (sheet 2 of 2) - Immaculate Conception Church1933HABS WIS,51-BURL,1- (sheet 2 of 2) - Immaculate Conce…Immaculate Conception Church1933Immaculate Conception ChurchImmaculate Conception Church1933Immaculate Conception ChurchHABS WIS,51-BURL,2- (sheet 0 of 6) - Luther Hall, Jefferson and Dyer Streets1933HABS WIS,51-BURL,2- (sheet 0 of 6) - Luther Hall, Jef…HABS WIS,51-BURL,2- (sheet 1 of 6) - Luther Hall, Jefferson and Dyer Streets1933HABS WIS,51-BURL,2- (sheet 1 of 6) - Luther Hall, Jef…HABS WIS,51-BURL,2- (sheet 2 of 6) - Luther Hall, Jefferson and Dyer Streets1933HABS WIS,51-BURL,2- (sheet 2 of 6) - Luther Hall, Jef…HABS WIS,51-BURL,2- (sheet 3 of 6) - Luther Hall, Jefferson and Dyer Streets1933HABS WIS,51-BURL,2- (sheet 3 of 6) - Luther Hall, Jef…HABS WIS,51-BURL,2- (sheet 4 of 6) - Luther Hall, Jefferson and Dyer Streets1933HABS WIS,51-BURL,2- (sheet 4 of 6) - Luther Hall, Jef…HABS WIS,51-BURL,2- (sheet 5 of 6) - Luther Hall, Jefferson and Dyer Streets1933HABS WIS,51-BURL,2- (sheet 5 of 6) - Luther Hall, Jef…HABS WIS,51-BURL,2- (sheet 6 of 6) - Luther Hall, Jefferson and Dyer Streets1933HABS WIS,51-BURL,2- (sheet 6 of 6) - Luther Hall, Jef…Luther Hall, Jefferson and Dyer Streets1933Luther Hall, Jefferson and Dyer StreetsHABS WIS,51-BURL,3- (sheet 0 of 2) - Meinhardt Bank, Chestnut and Pine Streets1933HABS WIS,51-BURL,3- (sheet 0 of 2) - Meinhardt Bank, …HABS WIS,51-BURL,3- (sheet 1 of 2) - Meinhardt Bank, Chestnut and Pine Streets1933HABS WIS,51-BURL,3- (sheet 1 of 2) - Meinhardt Bank, …HABS WIS,51-BURL,3- (sheet 2 of 2) - Meinhardt Bank, Chestnut and Pine Streets1933HABS WIS,51-BURL,3- (sheet 2 of 2) - Meinhardt Bank, …Meinhardt Bank, Chestnut and Pine Streets1933Meinhardt Bank, Chestnut and Pine StreetsHABS WIS,51-BURL.V,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Mormon House, Highway 201933HABS WIS,51-BURL.V,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Mormon House, …HABS WIS,51-BURL.V,1- (sheet 1 of 2) - Mormon House, Highway 201933HABS WIS,51-BURL.V,1- (sheet 1 of 2) - Mormon House, …HABS WIS,51-BURL.V,1- (sheet 2 of 2) - Mormon House, Highway 201933HABS WIS,51-BURL.V,1- (sheet 2 of 2) - Mormon House, …Mormon House, Highway 201933Mormon House, Highway 20
1960s5 items
DETAIL VIEW OF EAST TRUSS, SHOWING VERTICAL MEMBERS MEETING DECK - White River Bridge, Spanning Honey Creek on Bieneman…1968DETAIL VIEW OF EAST TRUSS, SHOWING VERTICAL MEMBERS M…DETAIL VIEW OF UNDERSIDE OF DECK, LOOKING NORTH - White River Bridge, Spanning Honey Creek on Bieneman Road1968DETAIL VIEW OF UNDERSIDE OF DECK, LOOKING NORTH - Whi…DETAIL VIEW, SHOWING CHORD-FLOOR BEAM CONNECTION, EAST SIDE - White River Bridge, Spanning Honey Creek on Bieneman Road…1968DETAIL VIEW, SHOWING CHORD-FLOOR BEAM CONNECTION, EAS…ELEVATION, SOUTH END, LOOKING NORTH - White River Bridge, Spanning Honey Creek on Bieneman Road1968ELEVATION, SOUTH END, LOOKING NORTH - White River Bri…LONG VIEW OF BRIDGE, LOOKING WEST - White River Bridge, Spanning Honey Creek on Bieneman Road1968LONG VIEW OF BRIDGE, LOOKING WEST - White River Bridg…
1970s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
On the National Register

4 listings protect 219 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
219
each building in a district counts
first listed
2000
Burlington Downtown Historic District
Burlington Downtown Historic DistrictBurlington Cemetery Chapel, built 1922Burlington Community Swimming Pools and Bathhouse, built 1965Kane Street Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Italianate1
Queen Anne1
Burlington Downtown Historic DistrictGreek Revival
Burlington Cemetery ChapelBuilt 1922
Burlington Community Swimming Pools and BathhouseBuilt 1965
Kane Street Historic DistrictDistrict

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

On the map

Burlington on the map, 1893 to 1971

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

Burlington on the 1893 USGS mapBurlington on the 1904 USGS mapBurlington on the 1960 USGS mapBurlington on the 1971 USGS map1893Geneva 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 Burlington.

The story

How Burlington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Burlington.

Read it all →

Prior to the arrival of Europeans in the area, Native American mounds were constructed near the present location of Burlington. A small Potawatomi village stood in what became Burlington.

The earliest certain European presence in what became Burlington was in the fall of 1799, when a group of French explorers and missionaries led by Francis Morgan de Vereceones made a portage from the Root River to the Fox River, reaching the Fox at approximately Burlington's present location.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Burlington, 1871–1920

Passages that mention Burlington, cut from the printed page as they were published.

On the 1st of September, 1837, Lewis Royce, Esq., settled in Burlington and built a house west of the present Burlington railroad depot . He came by way of Racine, and there met Ephraim Perkins and family and having a team and conveyance, conveyed them to Burlington, bringing also with him a barrel…
Official record of the Old Settlers Society of Racine County, Wisconsin1871 · page 58Read the page →
Read the text

On the 1st of September, 1837, Lewis Royce, Esq., settled in Burlington and built a house west of the present Burlington railroad depot . He came by way of Racine, and there met Ephraim Perkins and family and having a team and conveyance, conveyed them to Burlington, bringing also with him a barrel of flour. He found at Foxville, Origen Perkins, occupying his new homestead; Ruel Nims, on the east side of the river; a small board shanty had also been put up to maintain a

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Ruel Nims and family arrived in Burlington, (which was then known as Foxville,) on the 10th day of January, 1887, and went into occupation of a log house on the east side of the river, built by Woodbridge, and which during its occupation by Nims, was the first established public house for travelers…
Official record of the Old Settlers Society of Racine County, Wisconsin1871 · page 57Read the page →
Read the text

Ruel Nims and family arrived in Burlington, (which was then known as Foxville,) on the 10th day of January, 1887, and went into occupation of a log house on the east side of the river, built by Woodbridge, and which during its occupation by Nims, was the first established public house for travelers in Burlington.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In September there was complaint from Burlington that the Schwaebsden Saengerbund of Chicago had been having a three day "session" at Burlington, talking entirely in German and singing German songs. Burlington men who had attended the parties said the songs were merely drinking songs. As there was …
Racine county in the world war1920 · page 64Read the page →
Read the text

In September there was complaint from Burlington that the Schwaebsden Saengerbund of Chicago had been having a three day "session" at Burlington, talking entirely in German and singing German songs. Burlington men who had attended the parties said the songs were merely drinking songs. As there was no witness handy who could testify that the songs

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
It was decided that the Racine postoffice should act as the central office for the distribution of these stamps for the entire county, excepting the City of Burlington, the sales there to be in charge of Postmaster Henry Zimmermann.
Racine county in the world war1920 · page 104Read the page →
Read the text

It was decided that the Racine postoffice should act as the central office for the distribution of these stamps for the entire county, excepting the City of Burlington, the sales there to be in charge of Postmaster Henry Zimmermann.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Burlington, 1839 to 1981

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1839Post officeThe Burlington post office opens
  3. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1907In the archiveMill Dam
  6. 1922BuiltBurlington Cemetery Chapel is built
  7. 1933In the archiveHABS WIS,51-BURL,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Immaculate Conception Church
  8. 1940Born hereEd Garvey is born here
  9. 1953Born hereBill Kazmaier is born here
  10. 1965BuiltBurlington Community Swimming Pools and Bathhouse is built
  11. 1968In the archiveDETAIL VIEW OF EAST TRUSS, SHOWING VERTICAL MEMBERS MEETING DECK - White River Bridge, Sp…
  12. 1968Born hereRobin Vos is born here
  13. 1981Born herePaul Daniels is born here
Every building

Burlington, building by building, 1887–1920

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.

Burlington fire insurance map, 1887, sheet 11887Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Mill Dam
Retake this viewMill Dam, 1907

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Burlington’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Burlington, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00019001950200011,047

Grew from 993 people in 1860 to 11,047 in 2020, more than tenfold.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

12 famous people were born in Burlington

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Bill KazmaierAmerican Strongman · b. 1953
Ed GarveyAmerican lawyer, labor leader, NFLPA executive … · b. 1940
P
Paul DanielsAmerican rower · b. 1981
Robin VosAmerican politician and businessman · b. 1968
Braggo RothAmerican baseball player · b. 1892
C
Charles Edward BarnsAmerican journalist · b. 1862
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Burlington’s post office has been open since 1839.

Gone or out of use
Warren Pitmine
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Burlington
BurlingtonSaint CharlesSaint Mary

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

Help out

Finish Burlington’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMill Dam: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Browns LakeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLyons1 historic placeA−Spring Prairie3 historic placesA−

Questions about Burlington’s history

What year was Burlington founded?

The Burlington post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1886.

How does Burlington rank for history?

Burlington is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #31 of 362 in Wisconsin. 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.

What is on the National Register in Burlington?

4 listings: 2 buildings and 2 historic districts, the Burlington Downtown Historic District and the Kane Street Historic District, with 217 contributing buildings. 219 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Burlington?

19% of Burlington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1970.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (29), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.