Burnside is a Pulaski county town located on US 27 and KY 90 on Lake Cumberland three miles south of Somerset. The name comes from Camp Burnside, a Civil War encampment of General Ambrose Burnside.

It was established near the confluence of the Cumberland River and its South Fork and was initially known as Point Isabel or the Point. A Point Isabel post office opened in 1877 and closed in 1878. The Burnside post office opened in 1880. In 1950 the town was moved to its current location to make way for Lake Cumberland.

Map of Burnside circa 1950, before the impoundment of Lake Cumberland.