Buffalo Valley is an

unincorporated town 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 far western Putnam County,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, United States. The zipcode is: 38548. The town could be described as a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

History

There was much activity in Buffalo Valley at an early date. There was a grist mill before 1803. At its height, Buffalo Valley was a transportation hub with three grist mills, four general stores, a pole and timber yard, several livestock dealers, a produce dealer, a bank and two blacksmith shops.http://www.ajlambert.com/history/hst_fcbv.pdf Evidence of such activity is still present today. Flooding was a major cause of the town's decline. In the early 20th century, Buffalo Valley suffered one flood that swept a railroad bridge away and another that devastated the entire town. In the late 1990s, a scene for the movie The Green Mile was filmed in Buffalo Valley. The film utilized a railway bridge which crosses the

Caney Fork River The Caney Fork River is a river that flows through central Tennessee in the United States, draining a substantial portion of the southwestern Cumberland Plateau and southeastern Highland Rim regions. It is a major tributary of the Cumberland Rive ...

for a scene involving John Coffey (

Michael Clarke Duncan Michael Clarke Duncan (December 10, 1957September 3, 2012) was an American actor. He was best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in '' The Green Mile'' (1999), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor a ...

). As of 2019, the old Buffalo Valley School turned 90 years old. What remains of the flood-prone town are some houses, an active church, an abandoned church, a post office downtown, a few abandoned stores and the old school building (now a community center and library).

Geography and Environment

Topography and Hydrology

The southwest end of town is located at the confluence of the

and Big Indian Creek, with the rest of the town being along the creek. The area near town has abundant streams, rolling hills and large green pastures.

Flora and Fauna

Long before settlement was made, there was a huge canebrake of Arundinaria gigantea (River Cane) in the area.

American bison The American bison (''Bison bison'') is a species of bison native to North America. Sometimes colloquially referred to as American buffalo or simply Bubalina, buffalo (a different clade of bovine), it is one of two extant species of bison, alongs ...

would descend from the nearby Highland Rim to the valley to graze in the winter; the town was named when a particularly large one was killed.

Climate

Buffalo Valley's climate is

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Cfa'', Trewartha ''Cf''), giving the area mild winters and hot, humid summers. Precipitation is generally highest in spring and lowest in August to October, although a secondary peak does occur in December. On average, there are 208 sunny days, 37.4 days of highs over 90 °F (32 °C), 76.9 days of sub-freezing lows, 0.3 days of lows below 0 °F (-18 °C) and 106.8 days with at least 0.1 inches of precipitation.

Notes

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Putnam County, Tennessee Unincorporated communities in Tennessee