Burgoon

How Burgoon began

Burgoon grew from two rival, adjoining plats laid out after the Toledo, Tiffin and Eastern railroad crossed the older Lake Erie and Western line in 1871: landowner Peter Warner platted one side and wanted it called Warner, while a company of investors across the road favored Lorain for theirs, but the post office settled the dispute by registering the new office as Burgoon, a compliment to the new railroad's superintendent, Isadore H. Burgoon; an exhibit about him is held at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in nearby Fremont. The village peaked at 267 residents in 1940 and has since settled to under 200. A community grain elevator remains its most recognizable landmark.

Platted 1871, by platted in two adjoining sections after the Toledo, Tiffin and Eastern railroad crossed the Lake Erie and Western near the older village of Winter's Station: landowner Peter Warner on the east side, and a company of Huss, Noble, Nailor, and Loomis (joined by M. F. Hostler) on twelve acres of the Wise estate across the road.

Where the name comes from

Named for Isadore H. Burgoon, superintendent of the newly built Toledo, Tiffin and Eastern railroad, after the village's two rival sets of proprietors could not agree between 'Warner' and 'Lorain' for their respective plats; an exhibit on him is held at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont.

Before the town

No source found records a Native village, trail, mound, or treaty event specific to Burgoon, which grew up around an 1873 post office, decades after the Native land cessions and removals. The Mull Covered Bridge, an 1840s wooden bridge over the East Branch of Wolf Creek, stands near Burgoon in neighboring Ballville Township.

Timeline

1. 1871 — After the Toledo, Tiffin and Eastern railroad crossed the Lake Erie and Western line about a mile from the existing village of Winter's Station, Peter Warner platted a village on his own land, and a rival company platted an adjoining tract across the road on the Wise estate.
2. 1873 — A post office was established at Burgoon, the name chosen as a compliment to railroad official Isadore H. Burgoon after the village's rival plat owners could not agree on 'Warner' or 'Lorain.'
3. 1874 — M. F. Hostler entered the grain and stock business at Burgoon, later building a large elevator and two stockyards; a predecessor of the community's landmark grain elevator.
4. 1880 — William F. Fry erected a steam grist-mill, saw-mill, and planing-mill at Burgoon, the first grist-mill in Jackson township.
5. 1881 — Merchant P. J. Kenan's store, opened the previous year, was destroyed by fire on the night of March 29.
6. 1940 — The village's population peaked at 267.
7. 2020 — The village's recorded population was 183.

Stories

Two villages, one post office

When the Toledo, Tiffin and Eastern railroad crossed the older Lake Erie and Western line about a mile from the existing village of Winter's Station, landowner Peter Warner platted a village on his own land east of the tracks and named it Warner after himself. A company of four investors -- Huss, Noble, Nailor, and Loomis, later joined by M. F. Hostler -- bought twelve acres of the neighboring Wise estate across the road and laid out a competing plat, whose backers preferred the name Lorain. Neither name prevailed: the post office was registered as Burgoon, honoring the superintendent of the new railroad, and the merged village kept that name regardless of which side of the road a given lot had originally been platted on.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · archive.org

No water-system data is linked to Burgoon's ZIP codes yet.

Money issues on the ballot since 2025: 1 of 1 passed.

Ballot issues

Elections for office

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.

Auditor of State record

• No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
• Basic Audit, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-10-14

Cite this page