Burlington

Burlington and Missouri River Railroad poster

Burlington, city, seat (1838) of Des Moines county, southeastern Iowa, U.S. It is a port on the Mississippi River (there bridged to Illinois), 78 miles (126 km) south-southwest of Davenport. The site was once a Mesquakie village called Shoquoquok, in an area where Native Americans gathered flint to make tools and weapons. The site was settled as Flint Hills in 1833 after the Black Hawk War the previous year and was renamed (1834) by a settler for his hometown of Burlington, Vermont. The only adequate steamboat landing on that stretch of the river, it served briefly (1837–38) as the Wisconsin territorial capital and (1838–40) as the Iowa territorial capital. The Burlington and Missouri River Rail Road (later Railroad) began operations in 1856 and made the town a bustling railroad centre.

The early economy based on lumber and pork packing gave way to manufacturing, which now includes munitions, automotive products, and baked goods; railway maintenance is also important, as is a riverboat gambling casino (opened 1997). The Heritage Hill National Historic District contains many restored 19th-century homes and includes Snake Alley, a twisting, brick-paved street built in 1894 to allow horse-drawn carriages to gradually climb the steep hill from the riverbank. The Apple Trees Historical Museum, housed in railroad magnate Charles E. Perkins’s mansion, contains many artifacts from the city. Southeastern Community College, North Campus (1920) is in nearby West Burlington, and Geode State Park is about 10 miles (16 km) west. The Burlington Steamboat Days American Music Festival is held annually in June. Inc. 1836. Pop. (2000) 26,839; (2010) 25,663.