Burlington

History

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. The first European settlers in Burlington were Moses Smith (the son of a Revolutionary War veteran) and William Whiting. Smith and Whiting had been in the area previously, making a so-called "jackknife claim" to the land (carving their names and the date on trees in the vicinity) on December 15, 1835. The men then left the encampment and returned with Lemuel Smith (Moses' brother) as well as Benjamin Perce, another member of the group. The four men searched for arable land and built a cabin on the east side of the Fox River (on what is now Wehmhoff-Jucker Park.) Other settlers arrived in the spring and summer of 1836, mostly from New England; they named their settlement Foxville. the Foxville name continued to be used, however, until that name was officially changed on July 15, 1839. On January 2, 1838, Rochester township, which included Foxville as well as all of Racine County west of Mount Pleasant, was established. On March 9, 1839, Burlington township (including at the time what is now the Town of Dover) and much of Brighton were separated from Rochester. Burlington was incorporated as a village in 1886; in 1900 it became a city.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Burlington is located at (42.677945, −88.278279).

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,800
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  3,751
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,296
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,279
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,240
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  3,141
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,075
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,932

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2026-07-08
  21 km ENE of Kenilworth, Illinois
• M 2.9 — 2015-03-25
  3 km WNW of Lake in the Hills, Illinois
• M 2.6 — 2013-06-10
  4 km NNE of Virgil, Illinois
• M 3.8 — 2010-02-10
  2 km NW of Lily Lake, Illinois