Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Buffalo Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Buffalo Township

Buffalo Township dates to 1909, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1950.

1909founded
0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Buffalo Township began, and where its name came from

When was Buffalo Township founded?

1909

Buffalo Township dates its founding to 1909 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1950.

First census: 380 in 19502020 census: 113117 years

How did Buffalo Township get its name?

Buffalo Township was named for the large herds of bison (mistakenly called buffalo) that once roamed the area.

Founding year: Wikipedia. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Buffalo Township’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 Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 652 in 1960; 346 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Buffalo Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Buffalo Township’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
People over time

Buffalo Township, census by census

01002003004005006007001960198020002020Peak: 652

Peaked at 652 in 1960; 346 people lived here in 2020.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

The story

How Buffalo Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Buffalo Township.

Read it all →

Buffalo was established in 1909. It was named for the large herds of bison (mistakenly called buffalo) that once roamed the area. It is about fifty miles west of Bison, South Dakota.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Buffalo Township, 1909 to 1970

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1909
    FoundingBuffalo Township is established
  3. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 652
  4. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Buffalo Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
SDMap-doton-Buffalo2004SDMap-doton-Buffalo
On the map

Buffalo Township on the map in 1970

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Buffalo Township.

Buffalo Township on the 1970 USGS map1970Piyas Lake 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 Township.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Red Iron Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEden TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKosciusko Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDry Wood Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Buffalo Township’s history

What year was Buffalo Township founded?

In 1909, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1950 counted 380 people here.

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 (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.