About Us
The History of the Buckner-Ragsdale
100 years in the making…
The Buckner-Ragsdale Event Center is more than just a venue in downtown Cape Girardeau, it’s a Cape Girardeau staple. The Buckner-Ragsdale building carries over a century of history with it, from clothing stores to bars to breweries. Not only this, but the namesake of the event center has an equally as memorable history.
Left: Buckner-Ragsdale Event Center 2024
Right: Buckner-Ragsdale Co. 1929
The Founding of The Buckner-Ragsdale Co.
Though the existing building wasn’t constructed until 1916, The Buckner-Ragsdale Co. went into business in the year 1907 on the same corner the Buckner-Ragsdale Event Center occupies today.
The Buckner-Ragsdale Co. was Southeast Missouri’s first ready-to-wear clothing store. On September 3, 1907, The Buckner-Ragsdale Co. opened its doors to customers offering a new twist on a familiar product—clothes that didn’t have to be tailored to fit the buyer.
Photo: Water St and Broadway
Strife, Depression, and Expansion
March of 1916 brought a large fire that spread across the downtown area. The blaze ruined the original building that sat on the corner of N. Main St. and Broadway, allowing The Buckner-Ragsdale Co. to reconstruct a building designed specifically for their use. The Buckner-Ragsdale Event Center now occupies this historic building.
Throughout the Great Depression, The Buckner-Ragsdale Co. supported the Cape Girardeau community in a variety of ways, including expanding credit lines to customers and purchasing more from the local International Shoe Factory to keep it’s door’s open.
Photo: Buckner-Ragsdale Co. Ad 1907
By 1940, the company expanded by constructing the addition on Water St. Today, most of that space is back of house, but part of it is featured in The Ballroom.
At this point, The Buckner-Ragsdale Co. was the largest retail store between the cities of St. Louis, MO and Memphis, TN with two associate Buckner-Ragsdale Co. locations in Charleston, MO and Sikeston, MO.
Additionally, the Buckner-Ragsdale housed the Cape Girardeau Business College on the second level of the building (now known as The Loft). The college remained a tenant until the mid-1950’s.
Late 20th Century
By the mid 1900’s, The Buckner-Ragsdale Co. was established as one of the leading retail businesses in Southeast Missouri. Customer-first practices and merchandising initiatives supported the already successful business, such as interest-free credit, free delivery, and free alterations. Many folks will remember the Tuf-Nut pocketknives that came with a pair of boys jeans purchased at The Buckner-Ragsdale Co.
Technology was also a staple at The Buckner-Ragsdale Co. One such example is the now-famed pneumatic tube system used to shuttle paperwork, cash, and invoices throughout the building. Another retro-futuristic device was the Fluoroscope. Many folks would have their shoes fitted by sticking their shoed feet in a X-ray machine to identify how well their boned-feet fit within their new shoes.
As you may have guessed, The Buckner-Ragsdale Co. eventually closed its doors. After 75 years in business, the company shut down in 1982.
The Modern Era
In 1998, new owners of the building brought some life into the landmark. The Buckner-Ragsdale then housed two new businesses—Buckner Brewing Company and Ragsdale’s Pub. The main level, from the entryway to the back of The Ballroom, housed Buckner Brewing Company, a local microbrewery. As the name may suggest, Ragsdale’s Pub offered food and drink guests out of what is now The Cellar. The businesses both closed and reopened a number of times in their tenure at Buckner-Ragsdale. Buckner Brewing company and Ragsdale’s Pub permanently closed in 2018 and 2020 respectively.
The Buckner-Ragsdale was then added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 as part of the Cape Girardeau Commercial Historic District. In the nomination, the original Buckner-Ragsdale Co. was acknowledged as an anchor business for Cape Girardeau’s downtown that offered an “innovative and unique experience” to customers.
Photos: Buckner-Ragsdale Event Center 2024
Please Welcome The Buckner-Ragsdale Event Center!
After several years of vacancy, the building fell into disrepair. It changed hands in 2021 and work swiftly began to preserve the property. Over the next few years, the Buckner-Ragsdale building was restored to its current state—the Buckner-Ragsdale Event Center.
Great care and attention to detail went into the restoration of the Buckner-Ragsdale. Not only was the goal of the restoration to bring the building back to it’s former glory, but to update it to a functional and timeless event venue. On May 4th, 2024, the Buckner-Ragsdale Event Center hosted the first private event including a host of delectable dishes, celebratory drinks, lively music, and festive dancing.
Maybe your event will be next?
About the Staff
The Buckner-Ragsdale Event Center is operated by Heritage Hospitality Management (HHM), a Cape Girardeau-based hospitality company. HHM’s goal is to bring unparalleled support and customer service to the Cape Girardeau area. Additionally, HHM’s experience goes beyond the event center—HHM operates the Courtyard Marriott Downtown hotel and the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Cape Girardeau.
Since it’s opening in 2018, the Courtyard Marriott Downtown has consistently ranked amongst the top of all 1060 Courtyard Marriott hotels in North America. *Most notably, this hotel ranks 9 in guest Intent to Recommend, ranks 8 in Staff Service Level, and ranks 7 in Design and Décor.
*Rankings are provided by Marriott Global Source 2023.
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Explore Buckner Ragsdale History
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