It was 1879. The Bighorn Mountain region was still largely unsettled country. The U. S. Government’s construction of Fort McKinney at the mouth of Clear Creek Canyon to protect travelers along the nearby Bozeman trail was still underway. A number of civilians had acquired contracts to provide forage for the military livestock. They needed a place to camp and Clear Creek’s banks were the perfect place.

The new “town” was just off the post premises, and soldiers needed a place to spend their paychecks. Before long tradesmen and merchants started up beer halls, saloons and a place or two to get the lesser necessities of life—like food. While the little settlement gained prominence along the trail, the location had been well known by Indian Tribes, early day white explorers and travelers as a favorite stopping place.

The little town began to spring up quickly, but a real boost came when a trading post six miles south of town was relocated to the Clear Creek spot. Soon counties were organized in Wyoming territory. It became obvious that the site would become the county seat—and because of that would need a name.

One evening at the Occidental Hotel, one of early day Buffalo’s oldest remaining buildings, the owner held a meeting and made a suggestion. “Those present,” he said, “should write a name on a slip of paper to be deposited in a hat, and the one withdrawn will be the town’s official name.”

The winning name was submitted by a young man named Will Hart. He hailed from Buffalo, New York and had written the name, “Buffalo” on his slip. The town’s name has never been changed and despite some accounts to the contrary the name was not chosen because of the buffalo herds who constantly roamed the area.