Page:Oregon Geographic Names, third edition.djvu/99



twenty vears near Little York, Illinois. The nearest market town was Burlington, Iowa. It is a matter of family tradition that Burlington, Oregon, was named for Burlington, Iowa.

BURLINGTON, Multnomah County. Burlington is the name of a community north of Portland. The plat was filed for record March 24, 1909, by Ruth Trust Company. Herman Wittenberg was president of the company and named the place Burlington, but it is not known why he selected that name.

BURMA, Lane County. Burma is an operating station on the Southern Pacific railroad north of Eugene, and was established to help clear trains at the north end of Eugene Yard. Traffic became congested at this point in 1941, and when the station was put in service, the name was selected because of the traffic bottleneck then existing on the great Burma Road between India and China. Burma station was officially established by the railroad on November 27, 1942, but it was actually put in service about the beginning of 1942.

BURNS, Harney County. This community was named for Robert Burns by George McGowan, a pioneer resident who was a great admirer of the Scottish poet. Elevation 4148 feet. In February, 1943, Archie McGowan of Burns furnished the compiler with some data about his father, George McGowan, who moved into the Harney Valley from the Willamette Valley in May, 1882. George McGowan first stopped at the little settlement of Egan, about two and a half miles southwest of the present site of Burns, and engaged in the mercantile business. He soon decided to enlarge his business and move to a new location. He took Peter Stenger into partnership in the fall of 1883, and the two established themselves at the present locality of Burns, one reason being that it was nearer the Stenger ranch. Stenger wanted to name the new place Stenger, but McGowan thought otherwise, calling attention to the fact that Stenger was frequently pronounced Stinger, and the name Stingertown would be bad advertising. McGowan finally suggested Burns, and early in 1884 the community was established with the name. George McGowan died in Portland January 31, 1930, aged 85 years. For story of hanging of portrait of George McGowan in new Burns post office, see Burns Times-Herald, June 13, 1941. Egan post office was established July 31, 1882, with George McGowan postmaster. The name was changed to Burns January 22, 1884. The name Egan is said to have been that of a local Indian celebrity.

BURNSIDE, Clatsop County. David Burnside, for whom this place was named, was a native of Ireland. He came to the United States about 1825, and was naturalized in April, 1832. He arrived in Oregon in 1847. He married Mary Ann, last name not given, in Philadelphia, in August, 1853. He settled on his donation land claim in 1855, and the nearby station was subsequently named on this account. His land office certificate was numbered 3606. Marys Creek in Clatsop County was named for his wife.

BURNT BRIDGE CREEK, Lane County. Burnt Bridge Creek flows into Middle Fork Willamette River a few miles below Westfir. According to C. B. McFarland of Oakridge, the name came into use as a result of the Dead Mountain fire of 1910, which destroyed the wagon bridge over the stream. The name Burnt Ridge Creek is wrong.

BURNT Ranch, Wheeler County. Burnt Ranch is a place on the south bank of the John Day River at the extreme western edge of Wheeler County. The name was applied in 1862. The ranch was on the old miliobrity