c. 1834
New England pioneers
The first pioneers came from New England around 1834, many on government land grants, and stayed about five years. Early land records show names such as Napoleon Periolet, Richard Adams and Job Tripp.
Farm families
The first pioneers came from New England around 1834. In the 1840s many sold their land to German immigrants, and German Catholics settled mainly around Buffalo Grove. Families often sent one person ahead to scout the land. Jacob Weidner, known as Little Jake, liked it so much that his father, five brothers, uncle and their families followed. Melchior Raupp first came in 1847, headed west for the California gold rush, walked back, and worked for a farm family until he could buy the farm he wanted.
Church, school and store
The families built the first St. Mary’s Church in 1852 and the first St. Mary’s School in 1855. By 1899 the small downtown had the Firnbach Tavern and the Weidner General Store, and families could take the train from Prairie View station or travel Milwaukee Avenue for anything more.
After the war
In 1945 Buffalo Grove was still a small dairy farming community with fewer than 200 residents. Retiring farmers, VA home loans, new highways and faster construction changed that quickly. Al Frank built the first housing development in 1958, and the village incorporated the same year. By 1970 it had more than 11,000 residents, six schools and a park district.
Today
Growth continued through the 1970s and 1980s, and by the early 2000s the population had passed 40,000. The Raupp Museum keeps the farm years alive with an 1890s farmhouse porch, a replica dairy cow and an old-fashioned general store.