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History · Burnside

22% of Burnside’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1926 on and old-book passages.

0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Burnside’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 Burnside are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Burnside’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Burnside’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Burnside’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 so far

Burnside, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Burnside yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Burnside is a town in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 507. The ghost town of New City was located in the town. The town was named after Civil War general Ambrose Burnside.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 511 in 2010, 507 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Burnside in 1917

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

Marianne G. D. (Wood) Markham. He led the little group of people who in 1856 settled near the mouth of Elk Creek, and here he has since continued to be a leading citizen. George H. Markham was the first town clerk of the town of Burnside, which then included the present territory of the village of …
History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin1917Read the page →
Read the text

Marianne G. D. (Wood) Markham. He led the little group of people who in 1856 settled near the mouth of Elk Creek, and here he has since continued to be a leading citizen. George H. Markham was the first town clerk of the town of Burnside, which then included the present territory of the village of Independence and the town of Chimney Rock, and served as treasurer of the town of Burnside and later as treasurer of the village from its incorporation in 1886 for 30 years or more. He represented Trempealeau County in the Assembly during the 1879 session of the State Legisla-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The other settlement that took place, which I mentioned before, was in the Town of Arcadia, what is now known as North Creek, and in what is now known as the Town of Burnside. Here is the history of the settlement in the Town of Arcadia and Burnside as was told to me by the lone survivor, Mrs. Albe…
History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin1917 · page 150Read the page →
Read the text

The other settlement that took place, which I mentioned before, was in the Town of Arcadia, what is now known as North Creek, and in what is now known as the Town of Burnside. Here is the history of the settlement in the Town of Arcadia and Burnside as was told to me by the lone survivor, Mrs. Albert Bautch, Sr. The lady is also past the age of eighty, and although her memory is failing, and faihng noticeably, yet after a little conversation with her she recalled quite vividly some of the hardships of pioneer life, and recalled a good deal of its

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

Burnside, 1874 to 1926

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe New City post office opens
  3. 1876Post officeThe New City post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1926On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Burnside on the map, 1926 to 1973

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

Burnside on the 1926 USGS mapBurnside on the 1973 USGS map1926Whitehall 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 Burnside.

Famous people

Famous people close to Burnside

Nobody well known was born in Burnside itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Callista GingrichU.S. diplomat · b. 1966
R
Robert BromRoman Catholic bishop · b. 1938
Ole H. OlsonAmerican politician · b. 1872
Herman EkernLawyer, politician; Lieutenant Governor of Wisc… · b. 1872
L
Leo Ferdinand DworschakCatholic bishop · b. 1900
B
Bruce HunterAmerican politician · b. 1955
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, New City, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
New City
Gone or out of use
Borst Valley SchoolschoolCripps SchoolschoolFarmers SchoolschoolNew City SchoolschoolWickham Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Burnside
Cripps

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Independence1 historic placeB+LincolnIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMontanaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townArcadiaIts storyB−HaleIts storyB−Chimney RockIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Burnside’s history

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.