Burnwell's industrial birth took place in 1906, when the Imperial Colliery Coal Co. opened its No. 1 and No. 2 mines on what was known as ten mile fork of Paint Creek. Burnwell got its name from the fact that the coal would "burn well." Application for the first post office at Burnwell was submitted on Sept. 1, 1902, when the town's population was 250. By 1910 the town had increased so greatly that it had 201 households, and 209 men were working in the coal mines. As was the custom of coal companies, one of the first orders of business was to supply employees with a company store to provide them with the necessities of life. Most stores offered everything from food and clothing to furniture, and Burnwell had one barber and one doctor. In a few years Burnwell became one of the busiest towns on Paint Creek, and by 1932 the population had reached 2500 people.