Buffalo

Duane's take

The official marker for Buffalo, Henderson County, tells it this way — and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, before Henderson County even existed — before the Texas Legislature got around to creating it in 1846 — something was already stirring out on the Trinity River. A small community had taken root, built up around a ferry operating in that area.

They called it Buffalo. Not much fanfare, no ribbon-cutting ceremony. Just a ferry, a river crossing, and folks starting to gather.

When Henderson County did come into being, Buffalo was sitting in the northwest section of it — not exactly the center of things geographically. And yet, from 1847 until 1850, Buffalo served as the seat of government for the whole county. The county came to Buffalo.

Think about that for a moment. Two names stand out in the building of this little community. Henry Jeffries, a pioneer area landholder, had a hand in its development.

And then there was John H. Reagan — surveyor, lawyer, and a man who was clearly not interested in holding just one job at a time. Reagan was appointed road overseer, deputy sheriff, AND first probate judge.

Three titles. One man. Buffalo was apparently running lean on personnel.

Now, Reagan's story doesn't end at Buffalo, not by a long stretch. He later became a United States Congressman and served as Postmaster General of the Confederacy. But back in those early days on the Trinity, he was out measuring roads and keeping the peace and settling estates all at once.

The town plat — the official plan for Buffalo — showed lots designated for a church and a school. Somebody had vision. Somebody sat down and drew out a future.

But here's the quiet tragedy woven into this story: no other reference to the existence of either that church or that school has ever been uncovered. The lots were on paper. Whether anything rose up on them, history simply does not say.

In 1847, Buffalo was awarded a post office. The Commissioners' Court minutes tell us the major work of those formative years was establishing and laying out public roads — most of which began right at Buffalo and fanned out in all directions. In a real sense, Buffalo was the hub.

Every road in Henderson County started there. And then 1850 arrived. Athens became the Henderson County seat.

And just like that, the roads that once led to Buffalo started leading somewhere else. Buffalo began to decline. And eventually, it disappeared entirely — never realizing the expectations of its founders.

Few records have survived to tell its history. A ferry on the Trinity, a plat with empty lots, roads running out in all directions from a place that no longer exists. Some towns grow into legends.

Buffalo just quietly faded — leaving behind little more than a marker, a handful of courthouse minutes, and the memory of a man named Reagan who once held three jobs in a town the world forgot.

What the marker says

Before Henderson County was created by the Texas Legislature in 1846, a small community known as Buffalo had developed around a ferry that operated in this area on the Trinity River. Despite its location in the northwest section of the county, Buffalo served as the seat of government from 1847 until 1850. Instrumental in the development of the small community were pioneer area landholder Henry Jeffries and surveyor and lawyer John H. Reagan. Reagan, who later became a United States Congressman and served as Postmaster General of the Confederacy, was appointed road overseer, deputy sheriff, and first probate judge. Few records have survived to tell the history of Buffalo. Although lots for a church and school were designated on the town plat,no other reference to their existence has been uncovered. The community was awarded a post office in 1847. Minutes of the Commissioners' Court indicate that the major work done during the county's formative years was the establishment and laying out of public roads, most of which began at Buffalo and extended in all directions. When Athens became the Henderson County Seat in 1850, Buffalo began to decline and eventually disappeared, never realizing the expectations of its founders. (1984)