Before Buffalo Gap had schools, churches, or businesses, it had something else—buffalo hunters.

These rugged frontiersmen were the first non-Native settlers in the area, drawn by the vast herds of bison that once covered the gap in the Callahan Divide that you see in the distance before you.

In the 1860s and 1870s, buffalo hunters made winter camps in this gap in the mesas, taking advantage of the natural landscape for protection from the harsh weather.

The Comanche and Kiowa tribes had long hunted these same lands, relying on the buffalo for food, clothing, and shelter.

But as the railroad stretched across the country, the demand for buffalo hides skyrocketed, turning what had once been a way of life into an industry.

By the 1870s, the buffalo trade was booming.

Hunters, working in groups, used powerful Sharps rifles to take down dozens—sometimes hundreds—of bison in a single day.

The hides were the real prize, stacked high, salted, and shipped east to be turned into coats, belts, and industrial leather goods.

The hunters worked fast, often skinning the animals where they fell, leaving behind massive fields of bones that would later be collected and sold for fertilizer.

Fun Fact: According to the Texas State Historical Association, by 1878, the Southern Plains herd had nearly vanished.

This period became known as the “great slaughter”, wiping out the once-massive buffalo population in just a few short years.

But this boom had a price. Without the buffalo, the Indigenous tribes that depended on them for survival were forced onto reservations.

Many hunters, now out of work, moved on to other trades, and Buffalo Gap began its transformation into a ranching town.

Yet, life as a buffalo hunter was not for the faint of heart.

The men who braved the frontier faced harsh elements, the constant threat of attacks from Indigenous warriors defending their lands, and the grueling labor of skinning and hauling the heavy hides.

Hunters worked in teams with skinners, who could process up to 100 buffalo in a day. The hides were separated into bull hides, cow hides, robe hides, and kip hides (from younger animals), each with a different market value.

Jefferson David Dillingham, one of the early buffalo hunters, described his first time arriving in Buffalo Gap in the late 1870s.

As he approached, he saw what he thought was a collection of houses—only to realize, as he got closer, that they were huge stacks of buffalo hides, waiting to be hauled to market. Inspired by the sight, he remained and became a hunter himself.

The small settlement of Buffalo Gap in 1875 was little more than a hunter’s camp, with men living in dugouts, skin tents, and sod houses.

Traders set up “deadfall” stores, crude supply shops where hunters could barter for whiskey, ammunition, and basic provisions.

Outro: Today, standing here at Perini Ranch Steakhouse, it’s fitting to reflect on this history.

Where buffalo once roamed, cattle now graze, carrying on the legacy of the land in a new way. The days of the buffalo hunters may be gone, but their impact on the land—and the town of Buffalo Gap—remains.

Now, let’s take a look at another fascinating discovery from the past—the story of the Abilene Man, one of Texas’ earliest inhabitants.