The community was originally settled along the banks of the Cumberland River and called Isabel Point, allegedly for a woman named Isabel who jumped off a nearby cliff after breaking off a relationship. The town was renamed for American Civil War General Ambrose Burnside who established a camp there during the war. In the 1950's the entire town was relocated for the impounding of Lake Cumberland. American author Harriette Simpson Arnow grew up here. Burnside is believed to be home of the first Boy Scout troop in the United States. In 1908, two years before the Boy Scouts of America was officially organized, Mrs. Myra Greeno Bass organized a local troop of 15 boys, using official Boy Scout materials she had acquired from England. An official state historical society marker commemorates the troop.
