Burdick

The label

Why Burdick is called a ghost town

Burdick appears in a long-running ghost town directory, which calls it a cattle town of the 1880s with a few original buildings left. The label has a real basis: Burdick had about 225 people in 1910, a bank, telegraph and express offices and fairs that drew thousands, and it has lost two thirds of its people, its schools and its railroad since. It is not on Wikipedia's list of ghost towns in Kansas, and Legends of Kansas describes it as a small town that still has its businesses and post office.

History

Burdick then

Russian Mennonite families tried wheat here in the late 1870s and moved on. In 1880 Swedish immigrants from Henry and Mercer counties, Illinois, founded a settlement they called Linsdale (Lindsdale in Legends of Kansas). In 1887 the Santa Fe built its Strong City and Superior branch through it, and when the post office opened on August 29, 1887, the town was renamed Burdick, after the sweetheart of a railroad official.

The railroad made Burdick a cattle shipping point. In the first two decades of the 1900s it had stores, a bank, doctors and a dentist, and drew crowds for rodeos, fairs and baseball; PBS's 2004 film page says Governor Arthur Capper spoke to an estimated 3,000 people in 1916. The last old-time fair was held in 1923. Diamond Valley High School, shared with Diamond Springs, opened in 1921 and closed in 1957, and the grade school followed in the 1960s. The tracks between Neva and Lost Springs were pulled up in 2006.

1880. Swedish settlers from Illinois found Linsdale.

1887. The Santa Fe branch arrives; the post office opens August 29 and the town becomes Burdick.

1910. About 225 people, a bank, telegraph and express offices.

1921. Diamond Valley High School opens with Diamond Springs.

1923. The last of the old fairs.

1957. The high school closes.

1973. Townspeople revive the fair on Labor Day weekend.

2006. The rail line through Burdick is pulled up.

2020. Census: 62.

Today

What is there now

Legends of Kansas, updated May 2025, lists what still runs: the Burdick Meat Locker, family-owned since 1921 and known for jerky and potato sausage; the Burdick Oil Company, a family fuel and ranch-supply business that marked 70 years in 2018; the Hebron Lutheran and United Methodist churches; and the post office. The 1914 brick grade school is the American Legion post and community center, and the old Diamond Valley High School building still stands. The Labor Day weekend festival is the town's big event; PBS put its crowds at about 3,000 in 2004, and we found no current schedule.

Homes are private. Visitors can see the town from its streets, shop at its businesses and look for the Santa Fe Trail's Six Mile stage station site about three miles north, where a DAR marker was dedicated in 1908. The 1955 USGS sheet below names Burdick on the Santa Fe line west of Diamond Springs; the 1985 sheet shows its small grid beside the tracks.

Historic maps

Burdick on USGS maps, 1955–1985

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the map point. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

19551:250,00019851:100,000

Map & directions

Getting there

Herington is the nearest town with full services, about 26 minutes northwest. From Wichita the route runs north on I-135, east on US 50 and north on US 77 and US 56. Both end on 340th Street and Bb Avenue, the county road into town.

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL). Times assume dry roads.

Questions

Common questions

Is Burdick, Kansas a ghost town?

No. It had 62 people at the 2020 census and keeps a post office, a meat locker, a fuel business and two churches (Legends of Kansas, updated May 2025). It is much smaller than the town of about 225 it was in 1910.

Can you visit Burdick?

Yes, on its public streets and at its businesses. Homes are private. The Labor Day weekend festival is its biggest yearly event.

Why is it called Burdick?

The settlement was Linsdale until the post office opened in 1887; the new name honored the sweetheart of a Santa Fe Railroad official.

Nearby

Ghost towns and sites near Burdick

Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our Kansas index.

• Diamond Springs5.5 mi E · Morris
• Elmdale17.0 mi SE · Chase
• Parkerville17.0 mi NE · Morris
• Oursler20.3 mi S · Marion
• Gnadenau24.4 mi SW · Marion
• Bazaar26.2 mi SE · Chase
• Comiskey27.1 mi E · Morris
• Waldeck28.0 mi W · Marion

Sources

Sources and credits

1. ghosttowns.com, "Burdick": the ghost town listing, road rating, a cattle town of the 1880s with a few original buildings.
2. Wikipedia, "Burdick, Kansas", retrieved October 2026: coordinates, Swedish settlers from Henry and Mercer counties, Linsdale, the 1887 railroad, renaming and post office date, the 2006 track removal, Diamond Valley High School (1921–1957), the Six Mile stage station and 1908 marker, the 2020 census, the Labor Day festival.
3. Wikipedia, "List of ghost towns in Kansas", read October 29, 2026: Burdick not listed.
4. Legends of Kansas, "Burdick, Kansas" (updated May 2025): Mennonites, Lindsdale, churches, the 1887 station and post office, businesses, 1910 population, the 1914 school, the high school and last fair, the American Legion post, the tracks removed, today's businesses, churches and post office.
5. PBS POV, "Bill's Run: Welcome to Burdick, Pop. 60" (film premiered June 29, 2004): Linsdale, rodeos and fairs, Governor Capper in 1916, the last fair in 1923, the 1973 fair revival and its crowds.
6. Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026.

Photo and map credits

• Area base map, topo and aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).
• Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain): Hutchinson 1955, 1:250,000; Council Grove 1985, 1:100,000.