Burlington is the
home rule city that is the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of and the most populous community in
Kit Carson County,
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, United States.
The city population was 3,172 at the
2020 United States census.
[
]
History
Burlington was originally laid out one mile west of its present location in 1887 by a man named Lowell in anticipation of the arrival of the railroad. The Burlington, Colorado, post office opened on April 29, 1887. In addition to having the location wrong, Lowell also did not have title to the land. When the railroad did arrive, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
The original Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.
At ...
, it built its depot at the present site of Burlington and those who had built in Old Burlington moved their buildings to the new townsite. Trains began running in 1888. "The Settlement", about 12 miles northwest of Burlington, was settled by German immigrants from Russia, many from Hoffnungstal, South Russia, who, in addition to their homesteads, built Congregational and Lutheran churches.
Burlington, CO is on the Loewen database of possible sundown town
Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, were all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States. They were towns that practiced a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combinati ...
s, although Tougaloo College
Tougaloo College is a private historically black college in the Tougaloo area of Jackson, Mississippi, United States. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It was established in 1869 by ...
recognizes that it is "surely not" still one.
Geography
Burlington is located on the High Plains in eastern Colorado.
At the 2020 United States census, the city had a total area of , all of it land.[
The easternmost interchange in Colorado on ]Interstate 70
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...
is located at Burlington, west of the Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
state line.
Climate
Burlington has a typical High Plains cool semi-arid climate with hot, dry summers punctuated by occasional heavy thunderstorm rains, and cold, very dry winters. Snowfall is occasionally heavy, with an average annual amount of – but mostly the winter weather is very dry and extremely variable in temperatures. More than 33 afternoons (over a third) each winter can be expected to reach or exceed , but 4.9 mornings each year will drop to or under and 24.3 afternoons do not top freezing.
Demographics
As of the census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 4,191 people, 1,478 households, and ? families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,478 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.3% White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 6.2% African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1.2% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 8.5% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 27.5% of the population.
There were 1,287 households, out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.11.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 121.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 126.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,854, and the median income for a family was $42,500. Males had a median income of $29,167 versus $19,018 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $16,054. About 12.2% of families and 14.8% of the population were below the poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 20.3% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Burlington is a home rule municipality
Statutory city may refer to:
* Statutory city (Austria), an Austrian municipality acting as a district administrative authority
* Statutory city (Czech Republic), a Czech city with special privileges
* Statutory city (United States), a city in the ...
.[
]
Education
Burlington Public Schools are part of the Burlington Public School District RE-6J. The district has one elementary school, one middle school and one high school. Burlington also has several private schools.
Burlington Elementary School, Burlington Middle School and Burlington High School are located in Burlington.
Morgan Community College operates a regional center in Burlington, providing higher education services to Burlington and the nearby communities of Cheyenne Wells, Idalia, Joes, Seibert and Stratton.
Media
Print
Burlington has a weekly newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
, ''The Burlington Record''. A run of 3 years, 1910–1912, of the ''Kit Carson County Record'' is archived in the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.
Radio
The following radio station
Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...
s are licensed to Burlington:
AM
FM
National Historic Landmark
* Kit Carson County Carousel (National Historic Landmark)
Notable people
Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Burlington include:
* Robert P. Kerr (1892–1960), film director, actor, screenwriter
* Mike Lounge (1946–2011), engineer, astronaut
* Beau McCoy
Beau McCoy (born November 12, 1980) is an American politician who served as a member of the Nebraska Legislature for the 39th district from 2009 to 2017.
Early life and education
McCoy was born in Burlington, Colorado, and has been active in ...
(1980- ), Nebraska
Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
state legislator
* Susan Phillips (1949- ), Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
state legislator
See also
* Elitch Gardens Carousel
References
External links
City of Burlington website
The Early Days of Burlington (PDF)
{{authority control
Cities in Kit Carson County, Colorado
Cities in Colorado
County seats in Colorado
German-Russian culture in Colorado
Populated places established in 1887
1887 establishments in Colorado