Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Buffalo was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1880.
Buffalo dates its founding to 1872 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Buffalo is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Buffalo’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (34% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
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.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Buffalo yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Buffalo is a city in Leon County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,767 at the 2020 census.
Buffalo was established in 1872. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,856 to 1,767 (-5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Buffalo, cut from the printed page as they were published.
the Sweetwater. This route, a very long and dangerous one, ran hy the site now occupied by the town of North Platte,* and through what is now the main street of that place. During a visit I made to Buffalo Bill, at his home, in May, 1881, while riding with him, we crossed the U. P. railroad bridge over the North Platte river, and from this point of observation he showed me where the express crossing of that stream was made. Although
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
and in the following summer had charge of four hundred Pawnees who were engaged to operate against the Cheyennes. It was while thus employed that he made the acquaintance of Buffalo Bill, with whom he scouted a considerable time and until the two became partners in an enterprise conceived by Ned Buntline, as detailed in the “ Life of Buffalo Bill.”
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereLuther Burleson is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery 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.
Between 190 and 1,856 people in every census since 1880.
12 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Buffalo’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
In 1872, according to Wikidata. Buffalo’s post office opened in 1876, and the census of 1880 counted 190 people here.
Buffalo is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns. 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.
4% of Buffalo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1986.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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