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History · New Buffalo

New Buffalo dates to 1800, and 65% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1870.

1800founded
0on the National Register
65%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From New Buffalo’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How New Buffalo began

When was New Buffalo founded?

1800

New Buffalo dates its founding to 1800 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 259 in 18702020 census: 124226 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1828.

What stands out about New 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18927 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1995. Watch New Buffalo change.Old housesHalf of New Buffalo’s homes were built before 1938.Deep rootsEstablished in 1800: 226 years of New Buffalo.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start New Buffalo’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

New Buffalo on the map, 1892 to 1995

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

New Buffalo on the 1892 USGS mapNew Buffalo on the 1924 USGS mapNew Buffalo on the 1947 USGS mapNew Buffalo on the 1956 USGS mapNew Buffalo on the 1969 USGS mapNew Buffalo on the 1977 USGS mapNew Buffalo on the 1995 USGS map1892Harrisburg sheet · 1:62,500

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

The story so far

New Buffalo, in brief

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

New Buffalo is a borough in Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 124 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Harrisburg metropolitan area.

New Buffalo was established in 1800. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 129 to 124 (-4%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about New Buffalo, 1873–1922

Passages that mention New Buffalo, cut from the printed page as they were published.

New Buffalo was incorporated as a borough, April 8, 1848. Urban's tannery was built in 1835 and was run for a number of years. New Buffalo had two boatyards where canal boats were built and repaired and was a town of considerable importance in the days of canal transportation, the Susquehanna Divis…
History of Perry County, Pennsylvania, including descriptions of Indians and pioneer life from the time of earliest settlement1922 · page 1022Read the page →
Read the text

New Buffalo was incorporated as a borough, April 8, 1848. Urban's tannery was built in 1835 and was run for a number of years. New Buffalo had two boatyards where canal boats were built and repaired and was a town of considerable importance in the days of canal transportation, the Susquehanna Division of the Pennsylvania Canal passing through the town.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
New Buffalo was incorporated as a borough, April 8, 1848. Urban’s tannery was built in 1835 and was run for a number of years. New Buffalo had two boatyards where canal boats were built and repaired and was a town of considerable importance in the days of canal transportation, the Susquehanna Divis…
History Of Perry County, Pennsylvania1922 · page 1020Read the page →
Read the text

New Buffalo was incorporated as a borough, April 8, 1848. Urban’s tannery was built in 1835 and was run for a number of years. New Buffalo had two boatyards where canal boats were built and repaired and was a town of considerable importance in the days of canal transportation, the Susquehanna Division of the Pennsylvania Canal passing through the town.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
New Buffalo was laid out as a village of Buffalo township. Perry county, in 1 800, by Jacob Baughman. It is situated on the west bank of the Susquehanna river, nineteen miles above Harrisburg.
History of Perry County, in Pennsylvania1873 · page 42Read the page →
Read the text

New Buffalo was laid out as a village of Buffalo township. Perry county, in 1 800, by Jacob Baughman. It is situated on the west bank of the Susquehanna river, nineteen miles above Harrisburg.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
On Clemson’s Island, opposite the town of New Buffalo, located on the Susquehanna River (not Perry County soil, however), was an Indian mound which is remembered by those in very mature years as being quite prominent, but now indiscernible. There are vague accounts of the torturing of whites in Pfo…
History Of Perry County, Pennsylvania1922 · page 48Read the page →
Read the text

On Clemson’s Island, opposite the town of New Buffalo, located on the Susquehanna River (not Perry County soil, however), was an Indian mound which is remembered by those in very mature years as being quite prominent, but now indiscernible. There are vague accounts of the torturing of whites in Pfoutz Valley, while the relentless savages danced about the fires which tortured and consumed the unfortunates.

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.

Timeline

New Buffalo, 1800 to 1892

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1800
    FoundingNew Buffalo is established
  3. 1828Post officeThe New Buffalo post office opens
  4. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Perry County - ED 50-12, E…
  5. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

New Buffalo, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Perry County - ED 50-12, ED 50-13, ED 50-14, ED 50-15, E…18501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Penns…
Today9 recent
New Buffalo, PA post office, July 20252025New Buffalo, PA post office, July 2025New Buffalo, PA United Methodist Church, July 20252025New Buffalo, PA United Methodist Church, July 2025Millies Pizza, New Buffalo, PA, July 20252025Millies Pizza, New Buffalo, PA, July 2025Mill Street wb, New Buffalo, PA, July 20252025Mill Street wb, New Buffalo, PA, July 2025Mill Street eb entering New Buffalo, PA, July 20252025Mill Street eb entering New Buffalo, PA, July 2025Market Street nb, New Buffalo, PA, July 20252025Market Street nb, New Buffalo, PA, July 2025Buffalo Creek Keystone marker, New Buffalo, PA, July 20252025Buffalo Creek Keystone marker, New Buffalo, PA, July …2022-09-09 17 34 25 UTC minus 4 Aerial view centered on the border of Watts Township, New Buffalo and Halifax Township,…20222022-09-09 17 34 25 UTC minus 4 Aerial view centered …New Buffalo, PA Keystone Marker2010New Buffalo, PA Keystone Marker
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Perry County - ED 50-12, ED 50-13, ED 50-14, ED 50-15, E…
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Perry County - ED 50-12, ED 50-13, ED 50-14, ED 50-15, E…, 1850

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on New Buffalo’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

New Buffalo, census by census

010020018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 259

Between 93 and 259 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on New Buffalo’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Watts TownshipIts storyC−

Questions about New Buffalo’s history

What year was New Buffalo founded?

In 1800, according to Wikidata. New Buffalo’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1870 counted 259 people here.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 (10), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.