Town file
Elkland, Missouri
Elkland, Missouri (Webster County, Missouri) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 582, "Seven Murders & One Lie" (22 March 2025). This episode covers the killings of 25 September 1987 in Elkland, a farming town of 1,956 people in Webster County, southwestern Missouri, about 35 minutes from Springfield.
- Town
- Elkland
- County
- Webster County
- State
- Missouri
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 582
- Approximate location
- 37.443, -93.031
Episode 582 / 22 March 2025 / 73 min / express
Seven Murders & One Lie
"James says they are going to Elkland, Missouri, in southwestern Missouri, about 35 minutes from Springfield, in Webster County" about 0:03:20
The case: The Schnick and Buckner family murders (September 25, 1987). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2025
- Population
- 1,956
- Median household income
- $61,467 a year
- Median home value
- $232,100
History, in brief
- The post office named Elkland has operated since 1870; the town was called Elkland because there were elk there when settlers arrived. about 0:04:39
- In 2018 Elkland resident Helen Viola Jackson was inducted into the Missouri Walk of Fame as the last living widow of a Civil War veteran. about 0:05:01
- Nearby Marshfield, seven miles away, is where the court sits, and is home to the only intersection of the Trans-America bicycle trail and U.S. Route 66. about 0:05:47
The reviews read out
5 stars
"Small town where everyone knows everything about everybody; at least 1,200 in the high school yet a close community, with churches making food for those in need."about 0:06:15
4 stars
"Known as the town you hate but never leave."about 0:06:59
4 stars
"People are friendly, but unless you are involved in a church there is little community."about 0:07:08
2 stars
"Generally an okay town; people are incredibly rude and terrible drivers, and most kids say they want to leave."about 0:07:21
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Willard, Missouri24 miles
- Climax Springs, Missouri45 miles
- Reeds Spring, Missouri52 miles
- St. Robert, Missouri55 miles
- Cincinnati, Arkansas127 miles
- Pleasant Grove, Arkansas128 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.