Bluffton Moved Once After Fire and Again for Lake Buchanan

Billy Davis settled on the west bank of the Colorado River in 1852, and his relative I. B. Maxwell followed soon afterward. Maxwell reportedly borrowed the name Bluffton from his former home in Arkansas. The location sat near saltworks and river crossings used between Burnet and country farther west.

A post office arrived in 1873. By 1883, Bluffton was a stage stop between Burnet and Llano, with a blacksmith shop, cotton gin, hotel, saloons, and other businesses. Fire destroyed the town that year, and residents rebuilt it about half a mile north.

The railroad later passed Bluffton by, and the community declined. A larger move came after Lake Buchanan began filling in May 1937: the old townsite went under the reservoir. State Highway 29 was rerouted, leaving the relocated community farther from the main road.

Residents carried the name to a new community five miles west, while roughly sixty graves were moved to New Bluffton. Bluffton survived its geography twice: once by shifting after fire, then by leaving the riverbank to the lake.