Buffalo Hart is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in northern

Sangamon County Sangamon County is located in the center of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 197,465. Its county seat and largest city is Springfield, the state capital. Sangamon County is included in the Spr ...

in the U.S. state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. It is the population center of its own township, Buffalo Hart Township. Buffalo Hart was originally built in the 19th century, first as a frontier settlement based on a prairie grove, and then as a rural station stop on the Gilman, Clinton and Springfield Railroad twelve miles northeast of

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

, the state capital. Farmers would bring fresh vegetables and milk to the now-vanished railroad station for transportation into nearby cities. The railroad's successor-in-interest, the

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

, continues to operate a right-of-way that passes through Buffalo Hart. A small grove of trees about 0.5 miles south of the village, which originally stood out amongst the

tallgrass prairie The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to these ecosystems, limiting the encroach ...

grassland of central Illinois, has long been called "Buffalo Hart." A three-acre remnant of the

white oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera '' ...

grove has been preserved for public use as the ''Robert Burns Memorial Park''. Buffalo Hart Grove had a post office as early as 1837, but by 2009 the mail location was long gone. The crossroads general store closed about 1971 and the trackside

grain elevator A grain elevator is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lower level and deposits ...

was no longer in active use as of 2012. The unincorporated community is part of the

Springfield, Illinois metropolitan area IJS The Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in Central Illinois, anchored by the city of Springfield. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 2 ...

, and is served by

Illinois Route 54 Illinois Route 54 (IL 54) is a east–west highway in east-central Illinois. It passes through the cities of Clinton, Gibson City, and Onarga. Its western terminus is at Interstate 55 (I-55) in Springfield. Its eastern terminus is at U.S. Rout ...

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Sangamon County, Illinois Springfield metropolitan area, Illinois Unincorporated communities in Illinois

See also

References