Buffalo, Texas

Geography

Buffalo is located at 31°27′41″N 96°3′47″W (31.461402, -96.063024).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.0 square miles (10 km²), of which, 4.0 square miles (10 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) of it (0.50%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,804 people, 668 households, and 474 families residing in the city. The population density was 448.7 people per square mile (173.3/km²). There were 815 housing units at an average density of 202.7 per square mile (78.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 71.40% White, 14.80% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 11.59% from other races, and 1.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.02% of the population.

There were 668 households out of which 37.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.5% were married couples living together, 18.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the city, the population was spread out with 29.8% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,625, and the median income for a family was $31,058. Males had a median income of $28,807 versus $17,083 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,246. About 21.1% of families and 23.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.3% of those under age 18 and 21.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The City of Buffalo is served by the Buffalo Independent School District.

Trivia

In 1993 and 1994, Buffalo (which is located approximately 110 miles southeast of Dallas) temporarily changed its name to "Blue Star, Texas" during Super Bowl weekend, to show support for the Dallas Cowboys (who faced the Buffalo Bills both years; blue is the color of the star on the Cowboys' helmet). In 1999, Buffalo again briefly changed its name, this time to "Green Star, Texas", to support the Dallas Stars as they played the Buffalo Sabres in the Stanley Cup finals. Both the Bills and the Sabres are based in Buffalo, New York.

Ironically, in 1926, when the National Football League added traveling teams to nominally represent the West (with a team nominally representing Los Angeles) and South (with a team nominally representing Louisville, Kentucky), Buffalo, New York's NFL team renamed itself the Buffalo Rangers and represented Texas in the league. Thus, for that season, a team from Buffalo, New York nominally represented Buffalo, Texas in the NFL.

Buffalo is home to Slayer bassist/vocalist Tom Araya and his family.

The oldest house, built in 1872 and home to Carmelita Pate, is still mounted.

1959 plane crash

Braniff Flight 542 crashed in Buffalo on September 29, 1959. It was en route to Dallas from Houston, and the crash resulted in the deaths of twenty-nine passengers and five crew members. The plane was an 11-day-old Lockheed L-188 Electra. The Civil Aeronautics Board blamed the crash on the "whirl-mode" prop theory.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Buffalo has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.