Buffalo Gap

History

A very old western South Dakota town, Buffalo Gap was founded in 1877. By 1885, it was a railroad spur for the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad line, with more than 1,200 residents. Today, the town has about 180 residents. In its early years it was one of the largest towns in South Dakota, but it received the same fate as many other towns of that era. A resident's cow kicked over a lantern and it burned the town to the ground, as happened with the Great Chicago Fire and many others. The town never fully recovered and was never rebuilt to its former grandeur. The name comes from a gap to the west of town that sheltered buffalo herds in earlier times. Although Buffalo Gap burned down several times, there are a number of historic buildings still standing. Located on State Hwy 79 between Hermosa and Hot Springs, Buffalo Gap intersects with County Road 656, an “off the beaten path” that travelers can take into the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, Badlands National Park and the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation Part of the action of the French book La Brèche aux buffles takes place in Buffalo Gap.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,161
• Western Meadowlark

  Sturnella neglecta Audubon, 1844 · Aves
  939
• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  827
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  824
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  650
• Black-billed Magpie

  Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) · Aves
  647
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  613
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  599

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2025-06-08
  19 km NW of Wasta, South Dakota
• M 3.6 — 2025-03-09
  7 km W of Fairburn, South Dakota
• M 3 — 2024-06-29
  22 km ESE of Hill View Heights, Wyoming
• M 2.9 — 2024-06-16
  7 km NNE of Buffalo Gap, South Dakota
• M 2.8 — 2024-04-04
  19 km SW of Interior, South Dakota
• M 3.4 — 2021-03-26
  10 km E of Edgemont, South Dakota