Burt Township takes its name from Burt Lake, which in turn was named after state surveyor William Burt. The lake is part of an important inland water route, stretching from Crooked Lake and Conway (nine miles from Petoskey) in the south to Lake Huron in the north via the mouth of the Cheboygan River. Native Americans used the route prior to European settlement and it was heavily used for
commercial transportation of logs in the second half of the 1800s.

In the last two decades of the nineteenth century, the Michigan Central Railroad and the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad laid track through to Cheboygan, leading to the foundation of many villages, including that of Burt Lake. About the time lumbering was slowing down, the resort business began to build in the area, creating the beginnings of the seasonal tourist industry still important today. The water route is still in use and frequented by many small pleasure craft.