Editing Buffalo, Iowa (section)

== History ==
Steamship captain Benjamin W. Clarke settled the area of Buffalo in 1833. It was claimed following the 1833 [[Black Hawk Purchase]] which opened the region to non-native settlers. In 1836, Clarke sold a 2/3 interest in 90 acres of land to Captain E.A. Mix and Dr. Pillsbury and collectively the three men platted the town of Buffalo after [[Buffalo, New York]]. This was the first town to be platted in Scott County. The town was hopeful for a county seat but found itself on the Western edge of Scott County after its districting in 1837. This made the town unsuitable for the county seat compared to the centrally located [[Davenport, Iowa|Davenport]].

The Buffalo County Public School District #1 opened in the town in 1836. Coal deposits were discovered in 1834 and sold to passing steamboats. A post office was opened in the town in 1836. The first criminal trial in Scott County was held in Buffalo in 1836 for petty theft.<ref>{{Cite book |title=History of Scott County, Iowa |publisher=[[Chicago:Inter-State Publishing Company]] |year=1882 |pages=972–1018}}</ref>