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History · Buffalo Gap

Buffalo Gap’s post office opened in 1878, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Old Taylor County Courthouse and Jail.

1878first post office
1on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Buffalo Gap began

When was Buffalo Gap founded?

1878

The Buffalo Gap post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 543148 years
Founding year: the first Buffalo Gap post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Buffalo Gap’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 Gap are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Buffalo Gap’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Buffalo Gap’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Buffalo Gap’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

How Buffalo Gap came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Buffalo Gap.

Read it all →

Buffalo Gap's roots trace back to the early 1870s, when Buffalo Soldiers arrived to hunt the bison herds migrating from Montana into Texas. The natural gap in the Callahan Divide provided an ideal passage for these herds, giving the town its name and early identity.

According to some sources, Buffalo Gap was founded in 1875—a date proudly displayed on the City Hall reader board. By 1877, the town had grown enough to establish its own post office, with the population reaching 400 by the following year. The town's significance was further recognized when Governor Richard Hubbard declared Buffalo Gap the official county seat of Taylor County on July 3, 1878.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Buffalo Gap, 1865 to 1879

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1865Born hereOliver Lee is born here
  3. 1878Post officeThe Buffalo Gap post office opens
  4. 1879Born hereRawghlie Clement Stanford is born here
By decade

Buffalo Gap, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Center of Town2011Center of Town
On the National Register

1 historic place in Buffalo Gap

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Old Taylor County Courthouse and Jail
Old Taylor County Courthouse and Jail
Buildings
Old Taylor County Courthouse and JailBuilding

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Buffalo Gap

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Rawghlie Clement StanfordAmerican politician · b. 1879
O
Oliver LeeAmerican rancher · b. 1865

Questions about Buffalo Gap’s history

What year was Buffalo Gap founded?

The Buffalo Gap post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Buffalo Gap?

One place: the Old Taylor County Courthouse and Jail (listed 1978).

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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.