Here’s the deal, the City of Buffalo has approximately 1500 streets. We drive, bike and walk over them every day. Do you ever stop to think why Bird Street is called that? (HINT: It’s not because there were birds there) Do you ever wonder why the Fruit Belt streets are named after Fruits? I’ll be the first to admit, I’m a huge nerd when it comes to Buffalo history, and as an urban planner, I’m interested in discovering how cities grow and develop over time. I take pride in knowing a lot about Buffalo’s heritage and history (I volunteer at the historical society, shameless plug). I think it’s important to know where we came from in order to know where we’re going collectively as a city. But sometimes I wonder, how did our streets get their names?
Our city was first laid out by Joseph Ellicott in 1804. Ellicott worked for the Holland Land Company and laid out our radial street pattern. I think it’s safe to say that Ellicott Street was named after the surveyor who is responsible for our beloved Niagara Square. He named the streets with native american tribes (Chippewa, Mohawk, Huron, Seneca), animals (Beaver, Swan, Eagle, Elk) and dutch names (Vollenhaven, Stadnitzki, Willink, Vanstaphorst). Some of the names have endured, some have not.
So, these days, we have streets named after animals, native american tribes, the states (Michigan, Delaware, etc), fruits (Grape, Lemon, etc), and the founding fathers (Washington, Franklin, etc). Some of the major players in Buffalo history had streets named after them – Grover Cleveland, Millard Fillmore, Ebenezer Walden. But who/what was Tupper? Why is there a Keppel Street?
I decided to challenge myself to learn about the streets. Come along with me as I share the stories of long forgotten people and things that shaped the Queen City during the last two hundred years. I figure in each post, I’ll share another story about one of the streets and what the meaning behind their names are. It’s going to take some research, and I hope we learn a lot along the way. Feel free to share any stories you have, or request for me to research a particular street you’re interested in!
Discovering Buffalo, One Street at a Time 
The Delaware were an Native American tribe too (as well as a state). Isn’t the street in South Buffalo called Kepple and not Keppel? It is so close to your name, but not quite.
It is interesting that many of the South Buffalo streets are German names (Zittel, Hammerschmidt, etc…). Those were the names of the farm owners prior to the Irish settling in that part of the city.
You should write a blog post about how our numbered street are ridiculously hard to follow because they aren’t all on the same pattern!
-Rob Jones, AICP
ooo… good points! I actually did some research about the South Buffalo Streets last night, learned a little about when the area first became Irish. I plan to include maps of where the streets are, so there will definitely be a post about the weirdly numbered streets! And yes, it is Keppel Street, I promise.
You’re right, it is Keppel! I have a friend with the last name Kepple who I went to undergrad with, get that confused.
I’ve always wondered why the Ivy League School named streets are so spread out. Princeton and Yale are parallel to each other in So Blo. Then the rest are kind of spread out, Harvard Place, etc…
I like your article and I am very interested to know how my street Ross Ave was named. Is there any connection to Ira G Ross?
I’m looking for a photo of my childhood home. We lived at 255 Lemon Street from 1969-1972. Is there a photo of that house anywhere?
I don’t have many pictures of individual houses unless they were owned by someone prominent. You can check out the collection at the Buffalo History museum, I know they have a huge photo collection. More information can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vNXBuKtVjYKsCtd95ZP0i2Mopy-d8HaDHM3GhVnRoB4/pub
How can I find a picture or any information about a house at 444 Eagle, a childhood house of my mom……? Thanks
there is a street named after my family name Schutrum can you help?
sorry my nameth is beth sigrist sigristbeth@roadrunner.com
Any info or pictures of the streets: Walden and Pine Ridge area (Just out of Buffalo city line).
Is Durant Street named after Thomas C Durant from the Central Pacific Railroad?
Excellent work Angela! Thank you!
I’d like to know about Cable Street and Clinton.
I did not find any information on Virginia Street. Why not?
Hi! This is an active blog, I have not completed posts about all 1500 of the City of Buffalo’s streets yet as it is still a work in progress. Virginia Street is named after the state of Virginia – you can read more about the states named after streets on this post here- https://buffalostreets.com/2014/08/11/states/