The City of Buffalo received its name from the creek that flows through it, and likely dates from the mid 18th Century, when the area was first settled by Europeans. The area was originally settled by the Iroquois tribe. The city was designed in 1804 with a radial street and grid system, one of only three in the US. In 1825, the town became the western end of the Erie Canal and had a population of around 2,400. It was incorporated as a city in 1832.
Buffalo was a terminus of the Underground Railroad and helped many fugitives cross the Niagara River to Fort Erie, Ontario and freedom.
At the start of the 20th century, immigrants from Europe came in to work in the local mills which used local hydro-electric power. The city got the nickname City of Light at this time due to the widespread electric lighting used.
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