 At the time of the American Civil War it was the primary center of the local population, prior to the arrival of the railroads in the late 1800s.The original village of Buckingham began to decline after the railroad was built along Wolf Creek, in the valley below.This railroad was built about 1880, with the result that commercial activity and residences sprang up in the nearby Town of Traer, and correspondingly declined in the historical village of Buckingham.