Burke county was formed from Rowan County in 1777 and was named after Thomas Burke, a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1781. Also, he served as Governor of the State of North Carolina from 1781 to 1782. Most of this region was settled by many Scots-Irish and German immigrants. In 1791, parts of Burke County and Rutherford County were combined to form Buncombe County. In 1833, Yancey County was formed from parts of Burke County and Buncombe County.In 1841, parts of Burke County and Wilkes County formed Caldwell Conty and during 1842additional parts of Burke County and Rutherford County were combined to make McDowell County. Finally, in 1861, parts of Burke County, Caldwell County, McDowell County, Watauga County and Yancey County were combined to form Mitchell County. .Burke County citizens participated in the Battle of Kings Mountain which pitted Appalachian frontiersmen against the loyalist forces of the British commander Ferguson at Kings Mountain, South Carolina during the American Revolution, and were called "Over the Mountain Men" because the militia men did not wait bur crossed over the Blue Ridge mountains to engage the fight.
The earliest records of Burke County is a problem to genealogists because the ink in the will book dating from 1793 faded beyond recognition.
