Buckner, Texas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Buckner, Texas
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 Buckner, Texas
Location in Texas
Buckner, Texas
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Collin |
| Elevation | 659 ft (201 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 1378065 |
Buckner is a small place in Collin County, Texas. It's called an unincorporated community. This means it's not officially a city or town with its own local government. Buckner is part of the big Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area. It is also located inside the city limits of McKinney.
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History of Buckner
Buckner has an interesting history. It was once the very first county seat for Collin County. A county seat is like the main town where the county government offices are located.
How Buckner Became a Town
In the early 1840s, a man named John McGarrah came to the area from Arkansas. He claimed a large piece of land, about 640 acres. More settlers started to arrive in the mid-1840s. McGarrah then opened a trading station to help these new people. He also gave 50 acres of his land to create a townsite. Soon after, a blacksmith shop was built next to his store.
On April 3, 1846, the Texas Legislature (which is like the state's law-making group) officially created Collin County. They chose a group of five people to find two possible spots for the county seat. These spots had to be close to the center of the county. Then, people would vote to pick one of them to be the county seat, and it would be named Buckner.
About 75 people met on July 4, 1846, probably at McGarrah's store. They decided that this spot would be the county seat. Buckner even got its own post office that same year.
Losing the County Seat
However, things changed in 1848. The state legislature asked for a new election. This was because Buckner was not actually within three miles of the county's center. Also, only one location had been offered to voters in the first election.
In the new election, McKinney was chosen to be the new county seat. Mail service to Buckner stopped in May 1848. A year later, most of the people and businesses in Buckner moved to McKinney. By the early 1850s, Buckner, the first county seat of Collin County, was mostly empty.
Buckner Today
Even though it was abandoned, the Buckner area saw new activity in the 1980s. This was partly because of a nearby Texas Instruments company. Also, a special event called "Third Monday Trade Day" started happening there. This helped bring life back to the region.
Where is Buckner?
Buckner used to be about 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of McKinney. But now, Buckner is actually inside the city limits of McKinney. This means it's part of the larger McKinney area.
Learning in Buckner
Today, students in the Buckner area go to schools in the McKinney Independent School District. This school district serves the community. Children living in Buckner are typically zoned to attend:
- Lizzie Nell Cundiff McClure Elementary School
- Scott Morgan Johnson Middle School
- McKinney North High School
