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History · Buckner

Buckner’s post office opened in 1898, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1910 on and the census since 1920.

1898first post office
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Buckner began

When was Buckner founded?

1898

The Buckner post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,827 in 19202020 census: 409128 years
Founding year: the first Buckner post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Buckner’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Buckner are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19103 editions of the USGS map, 1910 to 1968. Watch Buckner change.Old housesHalf of Buckner’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Buckner’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Buckner’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Buckner on the map, 1910 to 1968

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Buckner. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Buckner on the 1910 USGS mapBuckner on the 1936 USGS mapBuckner on the 1968 USGS map1910Herrin sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Buckner.

The story

How Buckner came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Buckner.

Read it all →

The village was named after American Civil War 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.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Buckner, 1918–1920

Passages that mention Buckner, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Buckner on the Illinois Central R. R. is a thriving town of about twenty-five hundred people. From the time the railroad was built till 1906 not much business was done at this place, but a coal mine was located east of Buckner which furnishes employment for several hundred men, since then the town …
Franklin County history1918 · page 93Read the page →
Read the text

Buckner on the Illinois Central R. R. is a thriving town of about twenty-five hundred people. From the time the railroad was built till 1906 not much business was done at this place, but a coal mine was located east of Buckner which furnishes employment for several hundred men, since then the town has made rapid strides in its growth.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
At Buckner, J. Hughes was chairman, and through his efforts together with the chairman of the Franklin County Chapter the miner's union was used to help promote very materially the work of the American Red Cross. The woman's work was not thoroughly organized at Buckner, but the chairman visited the…
Franklin County, Illinois, war history, 1832-19191920 · page 38Read the page →
Read the text

At Buckner, J. Hughes was chairman, and through his efforts together with the chairman of the Franklin County Chapter the miner's union was used to help promote very materially the work of the American Red Cross. The woman's work was not thoroughly organized at Buckner, but the chairman visited them at several times and the

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Buckner, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Buckner-welcome-sign-il2021Buckner-welcome-sign-ilBuckner-water-tower-il2021Buckner-water-tower-ilBuckner-post-office-il2021Buckner-post-office-ilBuckner-RR-tracks-il2021Buckner-RR-tracks-ilBuckner-PD-il2021Buckner-PD-il
People over time

Buckner, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,827

Between 409 and 1,827 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Buckner’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Buckner

Nobody well known was born in Buckner itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
John MalkovichAmerican actor · b. 1953
Nick HolonyakAmerican physicist · b. 1928
Doug CollinsAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1951
K
Ken SwoffordAmerican actor · b. 1933
Adrienne MayorHistorian of folk science · b. 1946
William L. HungateAmerican politician · b. 1922
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Buckner’s post office has been open since 1898.

Gone or out of use
Crawford Schoolschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Buckner’s history

What year was Buckner founded?

The Buckner post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.