Buffalo, Kansas

 

Buffalo, Kansas, is a small town on Buffalo Creek in Clifton Township of Wilson County. As of the 2020 census, its population was 217, and it had a total area of 0.33 square miles, all land.

Buffalo was founded in 1867. It was named after Buffalo Creek, which was named for the American bison, commonly known as the buffalo. A post office opened on September 6, 1867, with Chester Gould as postmaster. The first school district organized in the county was in Buffalo and was District No. 1.

The first store opened in 1869 by the Young Bros., and the first hotel opened in 1870 by John Van Meter.

The Buffalo Agricultural Society was organized in 1872. That year, the first county fair was held in Buffalo.

In 1881, Buffalo had a general merchandise store, a druggist, a wagon maker, a blacksmith, and a “Shepherd’s Home.”

In 1886, the Missouri Pacific Railroad arrived, furthering the town’s lines of business and aiding in the construction of a brick plant and mill. Afterward, Buffalo experienced growth.

The first bank was started in 1887.

The town was incorporated as a city of the third class in 1898, and the first election held in October of that year, when the following officers were chosen: Mayor, E.B. Johnson; police judge, A. Jamieson; clerk, C.M. Callarman; treasurer, J.L. Dryden; street commissioner, O.P. Neff; councilmen, W.L. Ward, J.S. Blankenbecker, B.F. Jones, A.A. McCann, G.K. Bideau.

In 1910, Buffalo was still on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. Located in the oil and gas fields, it had a bank, electric lights, telephones, a weekly newspaper called the Buffalo Advocate, brick-and-tile works, a feed mill, a real estate company, express and telegraph offices, and an international money order post office with two rural routes. That year, the town’s population peaked at 807.

Buffalo High School closed in 1958 as part of school unification.

Today, Buffalo is served by the Altoona-Midway USD 387 public school district.

Buffalo is15 miles northeast of Fredonia, the county seat.