The story
Read it all →How Buffalo came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Buffalo.
Buffalo Township was organized in 1858, and named after Buffalo Lake.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
CHistory
History · Buffalo
Buffalo’s post office opened in 1856
More historic than 25% of U.S. towns · #190 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Most of Buffalo was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: maps from 1894 on and old-book passages.
1856first post office
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
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: 16,168170 years
How historic is Buffalo?
C
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Buffalo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Buffalo’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Buffalo is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #190 of 273 in Minnesota. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Buffalo’s overall grade.
Founding era1856, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.9% of homes (±2.4) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MN town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 25%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)Ahead of 31%
Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Buffalo’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Buffalo’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ 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.Every building
Buffalo, building by building, 1894–1922
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1894Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Buffalo in 1915
Passages that mention Buffalo, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Wright County, Minnesota1915 · page 23Read the page →
Read the text
Buffalo. — The village of Buffalo is picturesquely situated on the northeastern shore of Buffalo Lake. The glacial drift is here deep and contains several sand and gravel layers, from which the water rises above the level of the lake. The section given above shows that a thick stratum of water-bearing sandstone lies beneath the drift. The village has no system of jjublic waterworks.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Wright County, Minnesota1915 · page 301Read the page →
Read the text
proven an able helpmate through all their married life, and has borne her husband two sons, Robert Rudolph, born March 23, 1904, and Carl Frederick, January 22, 1909. In 1896, Mr. Bredt purchased a farm of 161 acres in section 5, Buffalo township, and there successfully farmed until June 15, 1914, when he and his family moved to the village of Buffalo. The farm is now occupied and operated by the son, Titus Hernuin Bredt.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Wright County, Minnesota volume II1915 · page 638Read the page →
Read the text
Buffalo, Jackson Taylor arrived in Buffalo, August 20, 1856. When the postoffice was established, he became postmaster, and served possibly something like a quarter of a century. He was followed by John C. Nugent who was appointed in 1886. C. KE.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Wright County, Minnesota volume II1915 · page 935Read the page →
Read the text
The Historical Club well fulfilled the purposes for which it was organized, and soon became recognized as a prominent factor in the literary and social life of Buffalo, and has eontinued to be such through the nineteen years of its existence to the present time. The ladies of the elub were among the foremost in fostering the idea of a public library in Buffalo, some desiring to incorporate the club as a foundation for a library, but the idea of incorporation not being approved by all members of the club,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumOn the map
Buffalo on the map, 1958 to 1991
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Buffalo. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1958Buffalo sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Buffalo.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Buffalo’s post office has been open since 1856.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Buffalo Manor EastBufflao ManorPulaski Mobile Home Park
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Buffalo
LakeviewMission
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
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).
How does Buffalo rank for history?
Buffalo is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #190 of 273 in Minnesota. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Buffalo?
8% of Buffalo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1993.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.