In 1796, in response to the growth of population to the east away from the Delaware River, the county seat was moved to Mount Holly Township, a more central location.

[24] The council of West Jersey Proprietors purchased roughly 30 miles (48 km) of riverfront land in 1676 from the Lenape Native Americans.

Initially, they met in private homes; between 1683 and 1687, Francis Collings constructed a hexagonal meeting house of brick.

A tablet commemorates that the Lenape chief King Ockanickon, a loyal friend of the English settlers, was buried here in 1681.

Local tradition associates this house with the young Benjamin Franklin, who received gingerbread from the household while traveling from Boston to Philadelphia.

There were 60 members of the original Library Company, each paying ten shillings per year to support the institution.

Endeavor was the first permanent firefighting organization in Burlington and remains one of the oldest fire companies under its original name in the state.

The elder Lawrence served in the State Assembly, as Mayor of Burlington, New Jersey in 1769, and as a member of the Provincial Council from 1771 to 1775.

[35] As education for girls and young women became emphasized in the 19th century, Bishop George Washington Doane founded St. Mary's Hall in 1837 in association with the Episcopal diocese as the first Episcopal boarding school offering a classical education for girls and the first such school in New Jersey.

Originally a dwelling, the ground floor was converted to commercial use around 1845 by William Allinson, a druggist, local historian, and leading Quaker abolitionist.

[37] John Greenleaf Whittier denounced slavery from the doorstep, and local tradition holds that fugitive slaves hid in tunnels under the building in their passage on the Underground Railroad.

New Jersey ended slavery, but many fugitives wanted to go farther north, beyond the reach of slave catchers.

[29] The 1850 United States census indicates that the largest number of men were employed in the shoe industry, followed closely by carpentry and bricklaying.

[29] During the 19th century, the City of Burlington developed in a grid pattern from the main crossroads of High and Broad streets.

Blocks of attached rowhouses built in the latest architectural style characterize the city as a 19th-century town.

Burlington's waterfront park along the river was developed as a result of urban renewal and flood control projects in the late 1960s and 1970s.

Development of an open, grassy park with a tree-lined waterfront esplanade has reconnected city residents to the riverfront for recreation.

As the new esplanade was built on fill that added land between the building and river's edge, it created a landlocked clubhouse for the boat club.

The modern company was formed in 1972 when Monroe Milstein purchased a warehouse in the outskirts of the city of Burlington.

[62] As of 2024[update], the Mayor of Burlington City is Democrat Barry W. Conaway, whose term of office ends December 31, 2027.

[63][64][65][66][67] In February 2024, the common council appointed Geneva Rijs to fill the Ward 2 seat expiring in December 2025 that had been held by J. Roosevelt Smith until he resigned from office the previous month; Rijs will serve on an interim basis until the November 2024 general election, when voters will choose a candidate to serve the balance of the term of office.

[68] In April 2022, Dawn Bergner-Thompson was appointed to the Ward 3 seat expiring in December 2025 that had been held by Helen Hatala until she died the previous month.

[72][73][74] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 3rd congressional district is currently represented Herb Conaway (D, Delran Township).

[76] For the 2024-2025 session, the 7th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Troy Singleton (D, Palmyra) and in the General Assembly by Carol A. Murphy (D, Mount Laurel).

[77] Burlington County is governed by a Board of County Commissioners composed of five members who are chosen at-large in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year; at an annual reorganization meeting, the board selects a director and deputy director from among its members to serve a one-year term.

[100] Among the city's 2010 Census population, 58.1% (vs. 61.7% in Burlington County) were registered to vote, including 76.4% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 80.3% countywide).

[108] The City of Burlington Public School District serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.

[119][120] In 2018, the district closed Elias Boudinot Elementary School, which had served grades K–2, citing declining enrollment, the opportunities to reduce costs and the potential to raise funds by selling the site.

[126] St. Paul Grammar School serves students in grades PreK-8 and operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton.

[131][132] The NJ River Line light rail system provides transportation between the Trenton Transit Center in Trenton and the Walter Rand Transportation Center (and other stations) in Camden, with stops at Burlington South[133] and Burlington Towne Centre.