Burke

History

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. By 1885 Burke had three sawmills, three cotton gins, a church, and a school. In 1886, it received a post office, which remained there until 1955. By 1888, it had a larger school, three general stores, a drugstore, a sawmill, a dentist and watchmaker, and a Farmers' Alliance store. In 1897, Burke had an estimated population of 650. By 1904, Burke's population had declined to 161, due to the rise of Lufkin, eight miles north, as an industrial center for the county. However, by 1915 the population had risen to 200, and by 1925 it reached 300. The Burke Methodist Church was organized in 1899–1900, and the First Baptist Church of Burke in 1905. Education was a priority at Burke. The first school, a one-room structure, was enlarged to three rooms within a few years. Voters approved a bond in 1910 to erect a brick schoolhouse for grades one through seven. The brick building was torn down in 1935 and replaced with a larger schoolhouse built with WPA funds. The Burke Independent School District consolidated with the Diboll schools in 1964. Burke was incorporated as a city in 1966, and a municipal water system was constructed. Burke had a population of 322 in 1980 and 314 in 1990.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Burke has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity