Classroom

The Buffalo port for steamships traveling the Kanawha river was one of the most busy places in town. The steamboats bringing passengers, mail, goods, and tired workers would stop and spend time off the steamers. Walking off the steamboats into a booming town with shops lining the streets, restaurants and friendly locals made Buffalo a river-life must stop location. The most remember-able time of the port though, remains a mystery to this day. On July 26th, 1908 the 117 foot long, 21.6 foot wide stream boat named Neva was docked at Buffalo when the town heard her whistle blowing. The steamship had mysteriously caught a blaze and burned at the waters edge. Practically the entire town came to aid at the sounding of her whistle that had been activated when something fell across its lanyard arm and continued until the boats boilers ran out of steam. The Neva was salvaged and eventually used to build the C. C. Boyer. Even-though the fire destroyed the Neva, it didn't slow down the visitors that made Buffalo's port a must stop on their river voyages.&nbsp;

The "Osceola" was the first built and launched steamboat from Buffalo in 1838.

The Neva, burnt at Buffalo on July 26th 1908

Stream boat docked at Buffalo early 1900s

The Steamboat named "The Boone"  bringing supplies to Buffalo in 1883. From Malden, West Virgina the steamship was shipping goods to L.A Carr & Company at the Port of Buffalo, West Virgina by the C.N Coleman & Company. 

The Buffalo port for traveling steamboats was one of the most busy places in Buffalo. Travelers would dock here to stop and enjoy the town and stay the night in the Buffalo Hotel. The site over the years has been almost untouched as the river and nature reclaim the site of a booming port and a mysterious fire that is still unsolved to this day.

Buffalo Steamboat Port & Ferry Crossing

This tour includes several historic Civil War sites and buildings in Buffalo, West Virginia that date back to the 19th century. Tour stops include locations where Confederate and Union troops occupied Buffalo.

Dr. Edouard Naret was born August 20, 1800 in Montceaux-les-Provins, Seine-et-Marne, France. After his mother Marie Rose Bureau’s death in 1812, shortly followed by the death of his father, Vincent Augustin Naret, in 1815, Edouard was brought to the United States to Gallipolis, Ohio to live with his uncle Jean-Pierre Romain Bureau. Soon after, he changed the French spelling of his name to the English “Edward.” At the time, medical students were required to only participate in three years of classes, followed by two years of being a private pupil as a practitioner of medicine, which today would be considered residency. So, in 1829, Naret attended medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating March 24, 1831. Afterward, he opened and started his practice in Gallipolis, Ohio, becoming a member of the Board of Directors of the Gallipolis Bank in 1841 and the first Vestry of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, which was formed in December of the same year. There, Dr. Naret met and married his first wife in 1843. His first wife, Benoite Henriette Pitrat, was the daughter of Antoine Mathieu Pitrat and Gabrielle Henriette Gagniard. Pitrat was born Jan 22, 1815 in Lyon, France, but was living in Putnam County, Buffalo, in what was then Virginia but is now West Virginia at the time she met Naret. Naret and Pitrat had four children together, named Charles C., Julia N. Beard, Edward, and Charlotte R. Records indicate that Dr. Naret purchased land in Buffalo, Virginia from a French immigrant he met in Philadelphia while traveling. He purchased the land and moved to Buffalo with his wife to continue his practice, allegedly moving between Buffalo and Gallipolis. Naret and Pitrat are remembered in Buffalo not only as the doctor of the town, but also a big part of history in Buffalo that would have left a different landscape if not for them.  March 16, 1849, Buffalo Academy was founded after Dr. Naret donated land to the town of Buffalo to have the academy constructed. The land was donated on a provision that when the land was no longer being used as a school, the property would be reverted back to their heirs. Naret also donated the clay for bricks that were used in the construction of the academy. The Buffalo Academy was used and flourished until the Civil War broke out and it had to be closed. During the time of the Civil War, Dr. Naret was Adjutant General for the 181st Militia from Putnam County, Virginia (now West Virginia).  Dr. Naret's first wife, Pitrat, died in Gallia County before August of 1862, surrounded by Naret and their children. He continued his practice in medicine and met his second wife, Rhoda F. Frazier, on April 7, 1869 in Putnam County. They then raised a second family. His four children with Frazier were named Mary, Barbara, William, and Edward. Dr. Naret continued his practice until his death on April 20, 1875. He died at age 73 and his burial place has not been found. The family records show that "He was buried on the farm at Buffalo, behind the house."

This 19th-century house was once home to Dr. Edouard Naret, a French immigrant who arrived in the United States in 1815 after the death of both of his parents. Young Edouard was sent to live with his uncle in Gallipolis, Ohio. After marriage, Edouard Naret purchased land from another French immigrant and moved to Buffalo, which is now part of the state of West Virginia. After some time in Buffalo, Dr. Naret and his wife donated the land to support the Buffalo Academy, a private school that operated until the Civil War. During the war, Dr. Naret served as Adjutant General for the 181st Militia from Putnam County. After the war, Dr. Naret continued his practice until his death on April 20, 1875.

The Naret House

The Progress Mill located in Buffalo provided milled goods to the local people of Buffalo, Eleanor, and boat travelers that came up the Kanawha River. The mill operated by water, turned milling stones that grind corn and other grains into flours. The four story mill plus basement, turned out large amounts of products a day and was a great means of work for many locals. During the Civil War, the mill was also home to the 8th (West) Virginia Infantry Regiment. Shown below, was one of the only Civil War photographs that shows the soldiers that were quartered here from the year 1861 and 1862. During the winter of these years, the soldiers trained and lived in the community of Buffalo. The soldiers were ordered in April of 1862, to go to New Creek, (West) Virginia and left the town of Buffalo. Over their two years together, only 8 men were lost a 2 officers wounded in battle. Another 167 out of the regiment would be lost due to disease over the course of the war. Several soldiers died in the mill during their stay due to typhoid fever caused by the mosquitoes that were bred and hatched in the flooded basement of the mill. The mill was later destroyed, and the remnants&nbsp;of the structure still remains today.&nbsp;

Located on the Front Street in Buffalo, the Progress Mill was not only a huge supplier of goods to the nearby community of Buffalo. But was also the living quarters for the 8th Virginia regiment soldiers during the Civil War. During the Winter of 1861 to 1862, soldiers trained in Buffalo and went off to battle. Some dying in the mill do to typhoid fever caused by the mosquitoes that bred in the mills flooded basement. The mill was later torn down, but remnants of the building still remain on the site.

Progress Mill

The Buffalo Presbyterian church sits to the North of the Academy in the Historical Square. The one and a half story Greek revival structure was built in 1857 by local citizens. The building is registered in the Nation Register of Historic Places along with the other three historic buildings in the town square. The building contains renominates of history from the Civil War when it was used as a barracks for both the&nbsp;Confederate and Union troops. The red brick masonry with tall 20 pane windows send light over the segregated church seating. The two white church doors on the front, bring back the time when church was segregated. Men set on one side, women in the other and slaves in the back above the rest of the congregation. An original 1880 organ sets up front waiting for service to once return to these halls.

The Buffalo Presbyterian Church built in 1857, stands in the Buffalo Town Square Historical District located in the middle of the town of Buffalo, West Virginia. The church relatively unaltered over the years, has seen an immensely amount of history in its time. From the two front doors, one for men and one for women, and boxed pews dating back to the time of gender separation in church. To the enclosed slave gallery in the balcony for slaves to view the services. Walking through the doors takes a step back in time to the struggles of daily life, social interactions, slavery and the civil war history that remains imprinted in the walls of this Greek Revival structure.

Buffalo Presbyterian Church

Buffalo Academy opened in 1849 thanks to the efforts of local citizens who formed the organization for the purpose of education. The building is a modest Greek revival two-story, four-room building made of bricks that were fired on site. The school flourished for a brief time, attracting students from the Ohio and Kanawha River valleys. The academy provided education in both modern and classical languages, as well as the study of the classics, sciences, literature, and religion.  Once the American Civil War began in 1861, Buffalo Academy was used by both Union and Confederate armies as headquarters, hospitals, and barracks. After war broke out, many of the students enlisted. The location was contested repeatedly as a strategic location in the Kanawha River valley, much the same as nearby Eleanor and Red House.  After the Civil War, the building itself required extensive repairs before education could resume. By the 1920s it was a part of the Putnam County school system, where it served as the high school until 1952. It is currently empty, although the local historical society has taken responsibility for the grounds and members hope to preserve the building which is part of the Buffalo Town Square.

This school was founded in 1849 as a school for local youth. The first principal of the school, George Rossetter later became the president of Marietta College. During the Civil War, the building used by both Union and Confederate armies. After the war, the school was renovated and used to house the local high school until 1952. 

Buffalo Academy (1848) West Virginia

Originally run by president of the bank John L. Dickinson with teller L.L. Lilly, the Buffalo Bank was opened March 1, 1919 and was the only bank operating in the town located in Putnam County, West Virginia at that time. Upon its opening, its capital was estimated at $25,000. With its yellow brick and beautiful interior architecture, it was the most modern building in town for a long period. On October 1, 1953, when the bank was under the command of F. M. Brown, it made local headlines for an armed robbery. Three robbers, Harold L. Page, Robert E. Combs, and Clair C. Starcher, made their way inside the bank and to the counter with a pearl-handled pistol and demanded cash from the bank tellers. The tellers, Edith Cain, Ann Haer, and Maxine Mitchell were inside the bank during the robbery. While it was occurring, two eleven-year-old girls, Mildren Young (Millie Stover) and Mary Hill (Susie Tucker) walked in. The three bandits made off with just over $9,500 and were seen leaving in their getaway car. All three men were eventually caught less than two hours later by the local police via a roadblock, however, it was not without challenge. Jim (James) McCoy, who would have been around six at the time, has some recollections of the day, mostly passed onto him by his father, Don (Donald) McCoy. Jim was born at St. Francis hospital in Charleston, West Virginia, in October of 1947, but grew up in Buffalo with his parents. His father, Don, served as mayor of the small town, and owned a television and appliance store a block away from Buffalo Bank named Buffalo Electric. Jim said he believes Don was still mayor at the time of the robbery. Jim recalls the brick building with granite trim, which he said had the feel of 1920s architecture, and remembers taking deposits to Maxine Mitchell at the bank for his father, where he had an account, as well as “Mr. Brown” as head of the bank at the time. He also recalls Don relaying specific events about the day of the robbery to him as a child. According to Jim, the bandits were not from the small town of Buffalo. They were likely organized crime men from a larger city “looking for easy pickings,” and after the robbery, fled down what he believes was U.S. 35. He said during the chase, state police were called and began shooting, but the thieves had “Tommy guns” (Thompson submachine guns) and the police were “outgunned,” so they held back on the chase until the roadblock was set in place. He said if his dad was mayor at the time, the call he received would have come from Sheriff Oafie Stone. Jim’s brother, Mark McCoy, while too young to remember the robbery itself, also had a few memories of Buffalo Bank. Mark was born at Thomas Memorial Hospital on January 15, 1941, making him around four years old at the time of the robbery and one of the first babies to be born at the hospital that had only opened January 1 of that year. In addition to recalling going to the bank with his father to see Maxine Mitchell, who was the town notary, he also said he specifically remembers the smell of money and smoke in the bank, since public smoking was permitted at the time. According to Mark, “back then, people smoked everywhere…you smoked in the bank, you smoked in the grocery store, you smoked in the funeral home.” He also said the bank had the appearance of a big-town bank, but scaled down, and the slight grade it was on made it more impressive, “at least to a four-year-old.” After the robbery and subsequent roadblock, the men still had the money they had stolen stuffed into their jackets when they were caught. All of the money was recovered. The Buffalo Bank was later bought out by a bank in Eleanor, West Virginia. According to Mark, Roy Hamilton, who is also a pastor in Eleanor, was the president of the bank at that time, and Roy sold the building for just $1. The bank was moved and closed, to which Mark said people were upset, since it was the only bank available in the small town. The building in Buffalo, however, still stands as the Buffalo Historical Society and Welcome Center.

The Buffalo Bank was established in 1919 and was the only bank established in Buffalo, West Virginia at the time. On October 1, 1953, the bank was robbed by three armed men who were later arrested with a large sum of money in their getaway car. The bank closed when it was moved to Eleanor, West Virginia, and the building is now operating as the Buffalo Historical Society and Welcome Center.


Buffalo Bank

The Buffalo Hotel was always a regular stop for riverboat travelers down the Kanawha River. Built in the 1800s the hotel has seen history from the Civil War up to the 1960s before it was torn down. The only remnants of this building is the stone scallops that curbed the front of the building.&nbsp;

The Buffalo Hotel was built in the 1800s and was a regular stopping place by riverboat travelers. The Hotel stood many years and even withstood the flood of 1913 when most of the town was under a few feet of water. The building stood beside the D.K. store for many years until torn down in the 1960s.

Buffalo West Virginia History Trail

Buffalo Steamboat Port & Ferry Crossing

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources