Buckner is a village in Franklin County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The population was 409 at the 2020 census. The current mayor is Aaron Eubanks.

History

The village was named after

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Union veteran Moses Buckner (b. February 11, 1827, d. April 17, 1882), who served in the 15th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Cavalry. United Coal Mine No. 2 opened in 1911 in Buckner under the ownership of the United Coal Mining Company (later the United Coal Corporation). The mine was sold to the Old Ben Coal Corporation in 1960, and renamed Old Ben Coal Mine No. 14. Eight men were killed in an explosion in 1915, and one man was killed in a gas explosion in 1931. The mine was idle in 1933. Its last production was 1960.> The opening of the mines attracted immigrant workers. A large number of miners arrived, many of them from Austria-Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia and many of

Lemko Lemkos (; ; ; ) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region (; ) of Carpathian Ruthenia, Carpathian Rus', an ethnographic region in the Carpathian Mountains and Carpathian Foothills, foothills spanning Ukraine, Slovakia, and Poland. Lemkos ...

and Rusyn origin. Many early immigrants trace their roots to the village of Myscowa in Poland. The mining community built a Russian Orthodox Church in 1913, which burned down in 1918. A second church was constructed. This church, the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, still stands today. It was built to mimic the construction of St. Ioasaph's in Muddy. Along with the still standing Holy Protection Church in Royalton, and St Mary's Orthodox Church in Madison, this church in Buckner was among the first of several Orthodox churches built to serve immigrant mining communities in southern Illinois. Others included the towns of Benld, Grand Tower, and Dowell. This village had a number of taverns and nightclubs and was known as one of the biggest entertainment areas of Franklin County from the 1950s to the early 1980s. in 2023 the last restaurant closed leaving only the liquor store left. In 2025 the restaurant reopened under a new name & company.

Geography

Buckner is located in west-central Franklin County at (37.981131, -89.015693). Illinois Route 14 passes through the village, leading east to Benton, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, and west to

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

. According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Buckner has a total area of , of which (or 97.65%) is land and (or 2.35%) is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 409 people, 151 households, and 89 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 211 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 92.18%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.24%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.00% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.00%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.49% from other races, and 7.09% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.98% of the population. There were 151 households, out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.03% were married couples living together, 12.58% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.06% were non-families. 35.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.56% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 2.30. The village's age distribution consisted of 19.8% under the age of 18, 12.4% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 21.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $38,542, and the median income for a family was $45,938. Males had a median income of $35,938 versus $22,813 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $21,907. About 11.2% of families and 16.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 44.4% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{Navbox Rusyns Villages in Franklin County, Illinois Populated places in Southern Illinois Coal towns in Illinois Rusyn-American history Villages in Illinois Ethnic enclaves in Illinois Ukrainian communities in the United States Rusyn-American culture in Illinois