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Buffalo-KY61-kyPhoto: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
–Not graded
History · Buffalo

Buffalo’s post office opened in 1856, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Buffalo was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Its Register listings are the Edward S. Ferrill House, the McClain Hotel and the Buffalo School. Its Register listings are the Edward S. Ferrill House, the McClain Hotel and the Buffalo School. Below: maps from 1953 on.

1856first post office
3on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Buffalo began

When was Buffalo founded?

1856

The Buffalo post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 571170 years
Founding year: the first Buffalo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Buffalo’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Buffalo are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Buffalo’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Buffalo’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Buffalo, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Buffalo yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Buffalo is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in southern LaRue County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 census, Buffalo had a population of 571. It lies along Kentucky Route 61 south of the city of Hodgenville, the county seat of LaRue County. Its elevation is 748 feet (228 m), and it is located at 37°30′43″N 85°41′55″W (37.5120048, -85.6985728). Although Buffalo is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 42716.

Its first post office opened in 1856. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 498 to 571 (+15%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Buffalo, 1856 to 1953

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Buffalo post office opens
  3. 1896Born hereSamuel J. Montgomery is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Buffalo, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Edward s Ferrill house2023Edward s Ferrill houseBuffalo-KY61-ky2017Buffalo-KY61-ky
On the map

Buffalo on the map, 1953 to 1987

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Buffalo. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Buffalo on the 1953 USGS mapBuffalo on the 1987 USGS map1953Hodgenville sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Buffalo.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Buffalo

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
Edward S. Ferrill House
Edward S. Ferrill HouseMcClain HotelBuffalo School
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne2
Edward S. Ferrill HouseQueen Anne
All 3 listings
McClain HotelBuilding · listed 1991Buffalo SchoolBuilding · listed 2009

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Buffalo’s post office has been open since 1856.

Hamlets and corners on the map
South Buffalo
Gone or out of use
Buffalo Methodist Churchchurch

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Buffalo’s history

What year was Buffalo founded?

The Buffalo post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Buffalo?

Three places: the Edward S. Ferrill House (listed 1991), the McClain Hotel (1991) and the Buffalo School (2009).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.