Have you ever noticed the 20-foot-tall fiberglass cowboy standing in front of the Ford dealership on I-10 in Boerne? White hat. Boots planted. Impossible to miss.
For a lot of people, he’s just something you notice out of the corner of your eye as you pass through town. For others, he’s a popular roadside attraction and a required photo stop.
His name is Buck, and he’s been part of Boerne’s landscape for decades.
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Buck Is Older Than You Might Think
People have been photographing Buck and posting about him online since at least 1998, according to Roadside America. If you scroll through those old photos, you’ll see what he looked like before the branding iron and latest paint job.
Back then, Buck wore a red shirt, long before his current paint job. The star-shaped branding iron he now holds wasn’t added until sometime between 2013 and 2016. Over the years, he’s gotten touch-ups, new colors, and subtle changes (like the branding iron he now holds), evolving right alongside the town around him.
But he’s been around a lot longer than that.
Buck belongs to a rare group of roadside figures known as Muffler Men, giant fiberglass statues that started popping up across the country in the 1960s and ’70s. They were originally designed as eye-catching advertisements, especially for muffler shops, with outstretched arms perfect for holding oversized props.
They came in all kinds of versions: Paul Bunyan, cowboys, Native American chiefs, chefs, pirates, astronauts, and more. Hundreds were made, but time hasn’t been kind to most of them. Today, fewer than 200 are believed to still exist nationwide.
Buck is one of only four known Cowboy Muffler Men left.
Before standing near the highway, Buck originally lived in front of a Boerne auto parts store. Around 2010, he was moved across the road to what was then Jennings Anderson Ford, now Ford of Boerne, where he received a fresh look and became part of the dealership’s Hill Country identity.
Why Boerne Still Loves Him
Muffler Men were never meant to last forever. They were designed to be moved, replaced, and eventually forgotten. But in some towns, they stuck.
In Boerne, Buck has become a quiet landmark, a familiar face in a town that’s changed rapidly over the years. New businesses, more traffic, more growth… and still, there he is, tipping his hat to everyone who passes by.
He’s one of those things that keeps Boerne feeling like a small town.
If you’ve never pulled off the highway to see him up close, he’s worth the stop.
You’ll find Buck at 31480 I-10 West in Boerne, standing exactly where he’s been watching the town go by for years.