South Burlington,IA Driving Tour

Enjoy a drive and look at historic homes, parks, airports and schools.

Welcome to Burlington. You are visiting a town once called “Flint Hills, Shoquoquon (Native American), Orchard City, and Porkopolis”. Burlington was open to European settlement in 1833. It was soon renamed Burlington after Burlington, Vermont. Burlington was the second capital of Wisconsin territory from 1837 to 1838 and the first capital of the Iowa territory 1838 to 1840. Burlington became the mercantile and distribution center for settlers WESTBOUND. Its geographical locations on the Mississippi River and the available lumber/coal made it a great place to manufacture the items needed for people moving westbound. It was the point of origin for Steamboat, Railroad and Wagon Wheel traffic going westbound. We will be exploring the southern part of Burlington beginning at the Municipal River Terminal where much of that distribution occurred.