BurrOakKansas

Welcome to the official Burr Oak, Kansas web site. Burr Oak is located in Jewell County in North Central Kansas. It is a small town of approximately 200 people.

Burr Oak is known for the abundant hunting and fishing resources close by. Lovewell Lake and State Park, 15 miles northeast, and Jewell State Fishing Lake, 15 miles south, should both provide the hunting and fishing enthusiast with plenty of action.

History

Burr Oak was established in 1871. It got its name from the numerous burr oak trees that grow along the Burr Oak and White Rock Creeks in town. The first settler to build a house in what later became Burr Oak was A. J. Godfrey. He built a two room log cabin in 1870. Later he added on to the cabin and it became the first hotel in Burr Oak. During the next ten years many people and businesses came to Burr Oak. The railroad came to town in 1880 connecting Burr Oak with "the rest of the world." That year also brought the first newspaper to town.

Burr Oaks' first school house was built in 1877. Due to the increasing number of students a new, larger school was built in 1882. By 1899 this school was also overflowing so a limestone building was constucted. This limestone building, shown in the picture at the top of this page, still stands today and is home to the Burr Oak Library and Museum. In 1917 a new high school was constructed to handle the overfow from the limestone building. The high school classes were moved to the new building and the grade school classes stayed in the limestone school house. It served in that capacity until 1968 when a new elementary school was built.

During the time from the organization of Burr Oak as a town until the change of the century in 2000, Burr Oak has seen many changes. Numerous people and businesses have come and gone in Burr Oak. Today, despite the declining economy, Burr Oak is still a busy little town and the people are always friendly. Why not stop in, give us a visit and see what this small town has to offer. You will be glad you did.

THIS BRIEF HISTORY WAS TAKEN FROM THE BOOK, BURR OAK, THE ROOTS RUN DEEP, WRITTEN BY A BURR OAK RESIDENT