Public Well

Burns, Tennessee:  Incorporated in 1953

In 1862 after the fall of Ft. Donelson, the Union forces controlling Nashville ordered a rail line from Nashville to the Tennessee River.  When the rail line was completed through a small settlement now known as Burns, originally designated as Grade 42 on the rail line.  The town was named for Captain Burns who commanded a detachment encamped at Grade 42 during the Civil War.

The first pioneer settler to make his home in the Burns area was Billy Austin in1803 on land purchased from veterans of the Revolutionary War.  Settlement of the area began in earnest with the clearing of fields, planting of crops, building fences, tilling the land, erecting farmsteads, and developing earlier wildness trails into roads.  Agriculture was the economic mainstay.  Cattle, corn, iron furnaces, timber and tobacco were the main income producing ventures. 

The largest employer in Burns was the lime kiln.  The production of lime, a necessary ingredient in the production of iron ore, began in 1875 and continued until 1951.  Lime was also used in mortar and concrete.  In 1889, a spur line was constructed to the kilns.  In 1910, a public well was dug at the east end of Main Street.  In additional to supplying local residents with a dependable water supply, it also serves as a local gathering place.

Burns was a “railroad town” in every sense of the word.  In 1949 the railroad depot was abandoned, but served as the first city hall when Burns was incorporated in 1953.  With the advent of the Tennessee state highway system through the southern section of the community, the historic town center has declined.  The commercial center is along Highway 96 where businesses and homes have flourished.   For more information go to www.cityofburns.tn.com