Buckner is a city in Jackson County,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, United States. The population was 2,945 at the 2020 census. For decades it was best known for TV and radio commercials promoting local automobile dealership Lasater Ford, run by the Lasater brothers, Wilson and Milton and later Halverson Ford. It is part of the

Kansas City metropolitan area The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

Geography

Buckner is located at (39.134806, -94.198223). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 3,076 people, 1,141 households, and 808 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,243 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.6%

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 ...

, 0.4%

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 ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.2%

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 ...

, 1.2% from other races, and 2.2% 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 3.4% of the population. There were 1,141 households, of which 41.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.2% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.19. The median age in the city was 33.6 years. 29.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.1% were from 25 to 44; 24.1% were from 45 to 64; and 10.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.3% male and 49.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 2,725 people, 1,019 households, and 747 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,065 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.93%

, 0.11%

, 0.44% Native American, 0.26%

, 0.84% from other races, and 2.42% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.98% of the population. There were 1,019 households, out of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.0% were

living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.6% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.14. In the city the population was spread out, with 30.3% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $40,577, and the median income for a family was $45,313. Males had a median income of $36,010 versus $22,372 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 city was $16,748. About 7.3% of families and 8.4% 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 10.4% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

History

Buckner was established in 1875. In its inception Buckner was a railroad depot town for the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad o ...

. Where Buckner derives its name from is a point of contention; the town is either named from former US Senator Alexander Buckner (1830-1833) who served on the States Constitutional Convention in 1820, or named after Real Estate operator Simon Buckner. Yet another claim as namesake is Thomas W. Buckner, an original owner of the site. The

WGN America WGN America was an American subscription television network that operated from November 9, 1978 to February 28, 2021. The service was originally uplinked to satellite by United Video Inc. as a national feed of Chicago independent station WGN-T ...

series Outlaw Country was set in Buckner.

Education

Buckner is part of the Fort Osage R-1 School District. The only school within the city limits is Buckner Elementary, for middle school children attend

Fire Prairie Middle School Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion reaction when the fue ...

, and move onto Fort Osage High School to complete their secondary education. Metropolitan Community College has the Fort Osage school district in its taxation area. Buckner has a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

, a branch of the

Mid-Continent Public Library Mid-Continent Public Library, officially known as Consolidated Library District #3, is a public library system serving Clay County, Missouri, Clay, Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, and Platte County, Missouri, Platte Counties in Missouri, wit ...

Media

Newspapers

''The Gazette Weekly'' serves Buckner, Levasy, Sibley, and Eastern

Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

on a weekly basis.

References

External links

City of Buckner (official site)
* Historic maps of Buckner in th
Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection
at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

Article in The History of Jackson county, Missouri (1881)
{{authority control Cities in Missouri Cities in Jackson County, Missouri Populated places established in 1875 1875 establishments in Missouri