Arkansas Canoe Club Forums

Hey Folks,

I am doing a class assignment/speech on the Buffalo River and I am having a difficult time trying to find accurate info (via online) regarding how the river acquired its name. I figured that you river folks could help me out.

Thanks,

-C- :)

email or pm Richard McFadden or PainterBob, hese two gentlemen are Buffalo River experts

For a true authority on the history of the Buffalo River consult Kenneth Smith, better yet get a copy of his book "Buffalo River Handbook''

What the other Roger said.

Or look at these links. Work filter won't let me open due to recreation aspect.

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=How+th ... =yfp-t-701" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

According to Kenneth Smith I think the origins of the name are uncertain, but I'd second the "Buffalo River Handbook" as the best resource for taking a stab at it.

Awesome, Thanks to all for the help!!

:)

I believe it was named after "Buffalo" Bill Cody, hero of the western cowboy shows.

That's just what I believe.

- Fish :)

I firmly believe it is named for the bison or Buffalo who used to roam freely up and down this stream.

Hard to believe but these magnificent animals were common around here at one time.

That is what I believe!

I think it came from Buffalo like what is all over this thread.
tha's what I believe

The species of Buffalo for which the Buffalo River is named is now extinct. They looked much like their western cousins only smaller. The elk that lived near the river at the same time are also extinct. Western elk were introduced a number of years ago and are now thriving. Both eastern species were hunted out.

The Buffalo River Handbook is a good source as others have said along with "The Battle for the Buffalo River, A twentieth-century conservation crisis in the Ozarks," by Neil Compton, which is also good if you want to cover the history of how the river was saved from being dammed and became the first national river.

Also see the documentary, "The Buffalo Flows" http://www.uark.edu/ua/buffriv/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and talk to Bob Cross in Fayetteville who is president of the Ozark Society. They have archived a great amount of material on the history of the Buffalo.

If you want Bob's address PM me.

Good luck!

Wow, thanks guys! This helps a lot. Thanks!!

Fish wrote:I believe it was named after "Buffalo" Bill Cody, hero of the western cowboy shows.

That's just what I believe.

- Fish :)

That's strange, I would have sworn it was named after Slim Chicken's tastiest menu item the "Buffalo" chicken wrap. Best in the Ozarks!

Richard wrote:When Schoolcraft first saw the Buffalo, he was with some annoying schoolkids who would not stop asking questions. One kid asked what the name of the river was. Flustered, Schoolcraft wanted to buffalo the student and the first word out of his mouth was Buffalo. It stuck.

Did I Buffalo you? Didn't think so.

There are several ideas but no one knows for sure. Earliest known reference appeared on a Spanish land grant in 1793.
On June 11, 1793, Don Joseph Valliere, captain of the Sixth Regiment of Louisiana under the Spanish government, received a land grant from Baron de Carondelet, Governor General of the Spanish Province of Louisiana and Florida, extending about twenty miles (32 km) on each side of the White River to its source beginning at the mouth of the Buffalo and the Big North Fork. But Spanish officials never visited the land, and Valliere did not settle it. This grant is the first mention of the area in European-American archives.

Honest. I am not trying to Buffalo you this time.

I also heard that Thomas Jefferson had a map that listed the river by name as well, not sure what year the map was dated at, but the "buffalo Flows" film mentions it.