Burnside

Waka, on State Highway 15 twenty-two miles southwest of Perryton in west central Ochiltree County, was settled in 1885 by German immigrants and was first called Wawaka. A post office was located in the home of the founder, J. N. Stump, from 1901 to 1919. In the latter year Burnside, a stop on the Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway three miles north of Wawaka, was laid off as a townsite and shipping point for area farmers. In order to be on the railroad, residents of Wawaka (including the Stump family) moved their post office to the Burnside site. By 1921 the Burnside community had been renamed Waka. However, the post office did not officially assume the new name until 1927. The population was 200 in 1930 and 150 by 1947, when the community had three businesses, two churches, and a school. In 1980 and 1990 Waka had a population of 145 and four businesses. Many of the Stump family's descendants still reside in the vicinity. The population dropped to sixty-five in 2000.