The neighboring historic district are Peak Suburban Addition, Munger Place, Junius Heights, and Swiss Avenue. Learn more about the history of these districts.
The first land acquisition for the park was in April 1914. This land was owned by Dr. R. C. Buckner, the founder of Dallas well known Baptist benevolence, Buckner's Orphan Home. The original orphanage was located in a home located at Junius and Haskell. To recognize this man and what he has done for children the Park Board named the new facility Buckner Park. The rest of the land already was subdivided and developed so land acquisition quickly began. The proposed park stood across for Davy Crockett School which was in need of a playground. Following George Kessler's suggestion the Park Board moved to create a park that would double as a school playground and a neighborhood park. Although the acquisitions continued until 1917, the park opened in the summer of 1915 with playground apparatus. By 1917, Buckner park covered six and a quarter acres. A wading pool was added in 1920. By 1923, the park included free outdoor movies and luxuriant shrubbery an exquisite flower beds. The original Kessler Plan for the park called for a large grass oval with a walkway and plantings surrounding this feature. Buckner Park was a center of social and cultural life for the neigborhood, one of the earliest suburbs of Dallas. As this older neighborhood declined in the years after World War II, the park suffered the same fate. Many of the historic homes have been restored by dedicated homeowners, beginning in the 1980's, but the park has not adequately benefited from these changes. Having fallen into disrepair and with the loss of vital amenities, Buckner Park did not serve the needs of the neighbors for recreation and green space. It attracted vagrants, prostitutes, and drug dealers. To make matters worse, Buckner Park is immediately adjacent to Zaragosa Elementary School, where children are subjected to this criminal element.
In 2006, a group of citizens banded together to form the Friends of Buckner Park in order to revitalize Buckner Park and make it a clean, safe place for the neighbors to gather. The Dallas Parks and Recreation Department agreed to dedicate funds and personnel to improve the park. In addition, Friends of Buckner Park obtained their 501(c)3 tax exemption status and will be raising money through grants and fundraisers as well as private and corporate donations and sponsors.