Bucknum, Wyoming facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bucknum
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Segment of 1958 USGS map showing, from left to right, Powder River, Natrona, and Bucknum.
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| Country | United States |
| State | Wyoming |
| County | Natrona |
| Elevation | 5,440 ft (1,660 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| ZIP codes |
82604 (Casper, WY)
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| GNIS feature ID | 1597236 |
Bucknum is a small, former community located in Natrona County, Wyoming. It's about 24 miles west of Casper by road. Once a busy stop along a railroad line, Bucknum is now mostly a quiet area.
Contents
The Story of Bucknum
Bucknum has an interesting history, mostly tied to the railroads that helped build many towns in the American West.
How Bucknum Started with the Railroad
Back in the early 1900s, a railroad company called the Chicago and North Western was building a new train track. This track went west from Casper all the way to Lander.
By late December 1905, the railroad opened a station about 22.4 miles west of Casper. They first named this station "Seminole." However, there was already another place called Seminole on a different train line in Wyoming. This caused confusion!
So, in December 1907, the railroad decided to change the station's name. They renamed it Bucknum. The new name honored Charles K. Bucknum, who was a Wyoming legislator (meaning he helped make laws for the state). He had also been the mayor of Casper and owned land near the station.
Life in Early Bucknum
As the community grew around the train station, a post office was opened in Bucknum in 1908. This meant people could send and receive mail right there. The post office stayed open for many years, until 1924.
Bucknum was a small place. In 1917, about 18 people lived there. By 1924, the population had grown slightly to 25 people. A school was also started in Bucknum around 1922, which was important for the children living in the area.
Bucknum Today
Over time, the Chicago and North Western railroad line was no longer used as much. When the railroad abandoned its line, many of the small communities along it, including Bucknum, started to decline. This means fewer people lived there, and businesses might have closed.
Even though the old railroad line is gone, trains still serve the area today. In 2015, a Spanish company bought a bentonite mine near Bucknum. Bentonite is a type of clay used in many products, from drilling mud to cat litter.
Today, the Bucknum area is part of the larger Casper community. It uses the Casper zip code 82604.
