[6] It is located between El Dorado and Florence along the west side of U.S. Route 77 highway.

For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans.

In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre.

In 1855, Marion County was established within the Kansas Territory, which included the land for modern day Burns.

[7] In 1877, the Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad Company built a branch line from Florence to El Dorado, and a station called Burns was built north of the present city location.

[6][8] The line was leased and operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.

[9] The original branch line connected Florence through El Dorado to Arkansas City.

When the town incorporated, they discovered the official city name of St. Francis was already taken, so they changed the name to be the same as the nearby Burns train station, then soon afterward the station was moved into the new city.

Burns Elementary & Junior High School closed in 1997 due to the lack of funds.

In 2010, the Keystone-Cushing Pipeline (Phase II) was constructed 6.5 miles west of Burns, north to south through Marion County, with much controversy over road damage, tax exemption, and environmental concerns (if a leak ever occurs).

[11][12][13] A pumping station named Burns was built 2 miles north of Potwin.

2023 police chief Joel Justice Womochil was arrested for possessing child pornography.

[15] Burns is located in the scenic Flint Hills and Great Plains of the state of Kansas.

[1] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.35 square miles (0.91 km2), all of it land.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.

[17] The 2020 United States census counted 234 people, 83 households, and 56 families in Burns.

U.S. 77 highway runs north-south on the east side of Burns, and follows roughly parallel to the old railway.