Buffalo Valley, Tennessee | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 36°08′29″N 85°47′12″W / 36.14139°N 85.78667°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Tennessee |
County | Putnam |
Elevation | 518 ft (158 m) |
Time zone | UTC-6 ( Central (CST)) |
• Summer ( DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
ZIP code | 38548 |
Area code | 931 |
GNIS feature ID | 1278920 [1] |
Buffalo Valley is an unincorporated town in far western Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. [1] The zipcode is: 38548. [2] The town could be described as a ghost town. [3]
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. [4] Evidence of such activity is still present today.
Flooding was a major cause of the town's decline. [4] In the early 20th century, Buffalo Valley suffered one flood that swept a railroad bridge away and another that devastated the entire town. [4] 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 for a scene involving John Coffey ( Michael Clarke Duncan). [5]
As of 2019, the old Buffalo Valley School turned 90 years old. [3] What remains of the flood-prone town are some houses, [6] an active church, [6] an abandoned church, [7] a post office downtown, [4] a few abandoned stores [8] [9] and the old school building (now a community center and library). [4]
The southwest end of town is located at the confluence of the Caney Fork River and Big Indian Creek, with the rest of the town being along the creek. [10] [4] The area near town has abundant streams, rolling hills and large green pastures. [4]
Long before settlement was made, there was a huge canebrake of Arundinaria gigantea (River Cane) in the area. [4] American bison 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. [4]
Buffalo Valley's climate is humid subtropical ( Köppen 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. [11]
Climate data for Buffalo Valley, Tennessee [11] | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 46.8 (8.2) |
51.4 (10.8) |
60.7 (15.9) |
70.2 (21.2) |
77.8 (25.4) |
85.6 (29.8) |
88.9 (31.6) |
88.5 (31.4) |
82.6 (28.1) |
71.9 (22.2) |
61.7 (16.5) |
49.9 (9.9) |
69.7 (20.9) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 37.15 (2.86) |
40.70 (4.83) |
48.95 (9.42) |
57.90 (14.39) |
66.30 (19.06) |
74.80 (23.78) |
78.45 (25.81) |
77.45 (25.25) |
70.90 (21.61) |
59.70 (15.39) |
50.50 (10.28) |
40.10 (4.50) |
58.60 (14.78) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 27.5 (−2.5) |
30.0 (−1.1) |
37.2 (2.9) |
45.6 (7.6) |
54.8 (12.7) |
64.0 (17.8) |
68.0 (20.0) |
66.4 (19.1) |
59.2 (15.1) |
47.5 (8.6) |
39.3 (4.1) |
30.3 (−0.9) |
47.5 (8.6) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 4.4 (110) |
4.4 (110) |
4.6 (120) |
4.0 (100) |
5.4 (140) |
4.4 (110) |
4.8 (120) |
3.7 (94) |
3.6 (91) |
3.3 (84) |
4.4 (110) |
5.3 (130) |
52.3 (1,319) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 2.0 (5.1) |
1.4 (3.6) |
0.4 (1.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.5 (1.3) |
4.3 (11) |
Source: "Climate in Zip 38548". BestPlaces. Retrieved May 8, 2020. |