Burnside is one of the 77 community areas in Chicago. The 47th numbered area, it is located on the city's far south side. This area is also called "The Triangle" by locals, as it is bordered by railroad tracks on every side; the Canadian National Railway on the west, the Union Pacific Railroad on the south and the Norfolk Southern Railway on the east. With a population of 2,254 in 2016, it is the least populous of the community areas, as well as the second smallest by area after Oakland. History Etymology The Burnside station subsequently the community area is named for Ambrose Burnside, a general for the Union in the American Civil War and an official in the Illinois Central Railroad (ICRR), now Canadian National Railway (CN). 19th century The area was mostly undeveloped swamp land north of Lake Calumet until after the American Civil War. The ICRR built the Burnside Station at 95th street. By the 1890s, the ICRR began construction of a roundhouse and repair shop at 95th and South Park Boulevard on what is now the site of Chicago State University. Developer W. V. Jacobs purchased the land in the triangle and began building residential homes. The area was settled by predominantly Hungarian, Polish, Italian and Ukrainian immigrants. Factory jobs were plentiful at the nearby Burnside Shops as well as Pullman Company, Burnside Steel Mill and other nearby factories. 20th century Originally considered part of Roseland and the Chatham communities, it was distinguished as one of the 77 Chicago community areas when the University of Chicago established its sociological map of Chicago communities. Following World War II, the area's population makeup included a growing number of African-Americans. This was one of several transformations that this working-class neighborhood would undergo. Burnside's fortunes began to change in the 1960s when industry patterns lead to economic decline. Nearby steel mills were shuttered. The Pullman Company scaled back production and eventually closed for good in 1981. Skyrocketing crime rates, gang violence and urban decay forced longtime residents and businesses to move away, a phenomenon referred to as white flight. Geography Burnside is community area #47. It is located south of the Loop. It is geographically the smallest of the community areas. It is bounded by the ICRR to the west, the New York Central Railroad to the east, and the Rock Island Railroad to the south. Demographics According to an