Buffington was established before 1881 as a sawmill camp by a Mr. Buffington, and purchased by the Himmelberger Harrison Lumber Company in 1880 (The Weekly Tribune and Cape County Herald, November 5, 1915).  John H. Himmelberger was born in Pennsylvania in 1861.  After the Civil War, his parents moved first to Cass County, Indiana and then when he was 19 years old his father, Isaac Himmlberger, moved to Buffington.  The business began in 1880 as a relatively small saw mill, but by 1915, it was the largest business venture in Southeast Missouri with more than one hundred thousand acres.  

Duck Hunting in Buffington - 1914. People: Mr. Jones, H. P. Nielson, & Jones Parch