Buffalo City, North Carolina

Buffalo City was a logging and moonshine town in East Lake Township, Dare County, North Carolina, United States.

The town's history lasted approximately 80 years from the 1870s to 1950s, but at one time Buffalo City's population of 3,000 in the early 20th century made it the largest community in Dare County.

[1] A hotel, post office, schoolhouse, general store, 100 miles (160 km) of railroad track and rows of homes once stood on the now-abandoned area.

Today, the only remnants of the ghost town include a road sign, rusted rails and building debris now overgrown with weeds.

The area surrounding Milltail Creek was harvested for juniper, cypress, and pine trees and became the largest logging operation in Northeastern North Carolina.

Freight cars then carried the wood to a transfer station at Milltail Creek and the barges took the lumber to sawmills in Elizabeth City.

[1] In 1920, Prohibition laws were passed in the United States and moonshine became a popular way for Buffalo City citizens to make extra money.

A 30-foot (9.1 m) boat named the Hattie Creef sailed down Milltail Creek and across the Albemarle Sound to Elizabeth City, where the liquor was sold.

[1] The Richmond Cedar Works company bought the surrounding land, but eventually sold it to Prulean Farms, a subsidiary of Prudential Financial.

Because of the soft ground on which the town was constructed, the streets were covered with sheets of wood and sawdust to prevent citizens' sinking into the mud.