Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1911 on, and old-book passages.
The Buffalo post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Buffalo’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Buffalo. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Buffalo.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
From Wikipedia’s history of Buffalo.
Buffalo was originally called "Hartford", and under the latter name was platted in 1836. A post office called Buffalo has been in operation since 1839.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Buffalo, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Hartford was platted September 26, 1836, by David Johnston and John Secrest. on the southeast quarter of section 4, township 8, range 9, in Buffalo township, as then described. "When the postoffice was established the name was fixed by the government authorities as Buffalo. The postoffice is now kept in the general store of A. E. Wycoff, the present postmaster. The first mails through this office were received over the old stage line, which was then the only means of carrying the mails. The present receipts of this postoffice amount to six hundred and seventy-three dollars per year. Two mails go
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Buffalo set off and election had June 23, 1810. Richland, named and election held July 18, 1810. Madison, named and election held July 18, 1810.
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Buffalo’s page.
Retake this view · +15The Buffalo post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.
