City of Buffalo City Map Poster

About City of Buffalo

The city of Buffalo received its name from a nearby creek called Buffalo Creek. British military engineer Captain John Montresor made reference to "Buffalo Creek" in his journal, which may be the earliest recorded appearance of that name. French colonists later translated this as "Rivière aux Boeufs", meaning "River of Bulls". The name was also given to the Niagara River (which is located north and west) by French colonists, probably as early as 1759; however, it could have been named earlier for other reasons than being near buffalo: for example, there were bison on the river's south bank at Fort Erie and along its lower length—the area where they roamed may have been so-called because it was hunted by them or because their meat provided food for some people living there. In 1804–05 an American explorer and army officer named Zebulon Pike negotiated with Native Americans representing the Seneca Nation in order to obtain permission to use part of their land along Lake Erie between present day Cleveland and Hamburg Village (now West Seneca).