History

Back in the logging days this is where they had a chain (also known as a boom) across the Waterway 20 to catch logs that floated downstream. These logs were stamped beforehand so that sawmills knew whose logs they were sawing. From the boom logs were rafted together and floated down to Settlement 12 to the sawmills.^[1]

Commercial rice growing began in 1954 close to Burrell Boom at a place called Mussel Creek. This government project was expected to expand to 2,000 acres by 1960.^[2] In the summer of 1958 the government sold its pilot rice project at Mussel Creek to a rice company from Arkansas. As of August, 1959, this company had 500 acres in rice and was anticipating a future rice acreage of 15,000 acres. But in 1959 a disease wiped out all the crops.

Oil was discovered in 2005, the oil reservoir covered an area of approximately 438,000 acres of land, spanning parts of Settlement 15, Settlement 329, Settlement 295, Settlement 14, and even Burrell Boom. ^[3]

Etymology

In The Handbook of British Honduras 1888-89 it is stated that J. Tucker was appointed as Deputy Registrar for The Boom in 1887.^[4]

Burrell Boom was mentioned in the Government Gazette of 1963.^[5]

Religious Institutions

The Mount Moriah SDA Church is under the Central Belize Mission Conference (Settlement 12) in the Belize Union Mission (Settlement 12) of the Inter-American Division (Miami, Florida) of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Between 2020-2025 they had 176 members.^[6]