Buffalo Center, IA

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Small Town, Big Fields, Great People! Located seven miles south of the Minnesota border and called Buffalo Center because it was midway between the north and south forks of Buffalo Creek, the town was originally built south of the present site and moved north when the Chicago and Iowa Western Railroad set up lines in northern Iowa.

It was settled in 1892 on mostly swampy ground, later dredged and tiled. One of the original settlers, Howard Pomeroy, took a mower and mowed through his wheat fields to show where the streets would be, and a hardware store and a blacksmith shop were the first stores in town. Buffalo Center has survived many fires which destroyed Main Street businesses over and over, a tornado or two on the edges of town, and several blizzards like the Armistice Day storm of November 11, 1940. On August 23, 1897, Buffalo Center became the first school west of the Mississippi River to be consolidated, and it is believed to be the second one in the nation.

Today, Buffalo Center is a thriving town of about 1000 people. We have a large new community center, the Heritage Town Center. This building also contains the Heritage Museum and our City Hall. We have several new businesses and a K-12 consolidated school that educates students from Buffalo Center, Rake, Lakota, and Thompson. Our 4^th of July celebration known as Firecracker Days features a 5k Glow Run, the Firemen’s Dance, a parade, music in Lion’s Park, tournaments, games, and contests for the kids, and a huge fireworks display. Other annual events include the Winter Gala in February, Farmer’s Market throughout the summer, Krazy Day at the end of July, Meat & Music Festival in August, and Craft Shows at various times throughout the year.