Burnet is located in the beautiful hill country. It is one mile west of the divide between the Brazos and Colorado rivers near the center of the county, forty-eight miles northwest of Austin. Nearby Fort Croghan, located just off Hwy 29, was established in 1849 to protect settlers from Indians. Originally the town was named Hamilton after John Hamilton, who had land in the area. A creek still has his name in Burnet. Several residents went to the state legislature and had the name changed in 1858.
The population was 4,735 in 2000, but the town seems to be steadily growing. There are several large corporations in the Burnet area which contribute to that population increase such as TDC Women's facility, Camp Longhorn, ATMI, and Burnet CISD itself.

Burnet Middle School moved from the R.J. Richey location to the main street campus in the summer of 2006. The buidling we currrently occupy has been completely remodeled and refurbished.