"Burns Road was originally Bush Road, but it was renamed for Mr. Thomas “Tommy” Burns who emigrated from England to Canada and then Caroline in the late 1800s. His son, “Tom” Burns, married Gladys Crispell, and was well known in the area for his fiddling at community gatherings. In 2001 some residents wanted to rename the road“TommyBurnsRoad”todistinguishitfromtheotherBurnsRoads in Tompkins County, but officials decided against making a change because it would cost residents an unneeded expense and emergency crews already knew how to respond when summoned."

Barbara Kone, "Town of Caroline," in Carol Kammen, ed. Place Names of Tompkins County, Ithaca, NY: Office of the Tompkins County Historian, 2004. 19.