Buckner, Missouri

Buckner, Missouri is a city of 2,945 people (2020 census) in northeastern Jackson County on the U.S. Route 24 corridor, part of the Kansas City metropolitan area.¹ Established in 1875 as a railroad depot for the Wyandotte, Kansas City and Northwestern Railroad (later Missouri Pacific), it is often remembered regionally for long-running Lasater Ford (later Halverson Ford) radio and TV advertising.¹

Overview

County	Jackson County, Missouri
Population (2020)	2,9451
Established	1875 (railroad depot town)1
Railroad	Wyandotte, Kansas City and Northwestern → Missouri Pacific (1879 purchase)1
Name	Likely Walker Buckner (WKCNW board); alternate claim Sen. Alexander Buckner1
Highway	U.S. 241
Area	about 1.79 sq mi (all land)1

History

Buckner was established in 1875 as a depot town on the newly built Wyandotte, Kansas City and Northwestern Railroad. In 1879 that line was purchased by the Missouri Pacific Railroad.¹ The place-name is contested: secondary sources favor Walker Buckner, a board member of the founding railroad, while others suggest U.S. Senator Alexander Buckner (served 1830–1833).¹

The settlement remained small into the early 20th century (hundreds of residents) and grew with mid-century suburbanization, peaking near 3,076 in 2010 before the 2020 count of 2,945.¹ For decades the town’s public profile was shaped by commercials for local Lasater Ford, run by the Lasater brothers (Wilson and Milton) and later Halverson Ford.¹

Sources

See also

• independence-mo
• grain-valley-mo
• oak-grove-mo
• Wiki

Footnotes

1. Wikipedia — “Buckner, Missouri.” — asserts: Jackson County; 2020 pop. 2,945; established 1875 as WKCNW depot; MoPac 1879; name theories (Walker Buckner / Alexander Buckner); US 24; three wards; Lasater/Halverson Ford advertising fame; area 1.79 sq mi; decennial population series; coordinates ~39.13472°N 94.19833°W. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²