Welcome to Burns, Tennessee

Originally called Mile Post 36, indicating its mileage from Nashville. During the Civil War, Union soldiers and railroad workers lived there. Soon after the Civil War, the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad took over the rail line from the federal government, and Mile Post 36 was renamed Burns Station in honor of the railroad's president. Over the years, the "Station" part of the village name was dropped, although Burns retained its depot and was a regular stop on the railroad until about 1970. The depot was converted into Burns's first town hall.

Burns has continued to grow and prosper—the population was 777 in the 1980 census, rose to 1,439 by 2006, and reached 1,608 in the 2020 census, with continued growth bringing estimates near 2,000 by 2026. The intersection of Interstate 840 and Interstate 40 near Burns is a major highway, delivering significant traffic to the area and driving economic development and residential growth throughout the 21st century.