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A+History
History · Buchanan

Buchanan dates to 1842, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 96% of U.S. towns · #22 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

6 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 599 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1870.

1842founded
6on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Buchanan’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Buchanan began

When was Buchanan founded?

1842

Buchanan dates its founding to 1842 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 1,702 in 18702020 census: 4,300184 years

How historic is Buchanan?

A+

More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1848.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Buchanan’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Buchanan is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #22 of 701 in Michigan. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Buchanan’s overall grade.
Founding era1842, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194028.3% of homes (±6.9) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register6 listings, 601 historic buildings, 1,423 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 96%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 97%

Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Buchanan’s 1,423 sits above most of its state (100% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 601 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.9 points). Two sources give 1842.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Buchanan’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Buchanan North and West Neighborhoods Historic District takes in 556 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1917, drew every building in Buchanan.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

6 listings protect 601 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
601
each building in a district counts
first listed
2007
Union Block
Union Block, built 1862Zinc Collar Pad Company BuildingBuchanan Downtown Historic DistrictBuchanan North and West Neighborhoods Historic DistrictClark Equipment Company Administrative ComplexOak Ridge Cemetery
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Italianate4
Greek Revival2
Commercial Style1
Wrightian1
Stick/Eastlake1
Queen Anne1
Union BlockItalianate · Built 1862
Zinc Collar Pad Company BuildingItalianate
Buchanan Downtown Historic DistrictItalianate
Buchanan North and West Neighborhoods Historic DistrictGreek Revival
All 6 listings
Clark Equipment Company Administrative ComplexDistrict · listed 2023Oak Ridge CemeteryDistrict · listed 2024

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Start Buchanan’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Buchanan’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewClark Equipment Co: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Buchanan, building by building, 1884–1917

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Buchanan fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Buchanan came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Buchanan.

Read it all →

The community was named after James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States. Popularly known as "Redbud City" because of the many redbud trees that have historically lined city streets and the major approaches to the city, Buchanan has long been recognized as a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation.

The area, already having been populated by Native Americans in places such as the Moccasin Bluff site, was first settled in 1833 at the spot where McCoy Creek meets the St. Joseph River. The village of Buchanan was platted in 1842 and incorporated in 1858.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Buchanan, 1842 to 1990

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1842
    FoundingBuchanan is established
  3. 1848Post officeThe Buchanan post office opens
  4. 1862BuiltUnion Block is built
  5. 1880Born hereHarry Niles is born here
  6. 1897Born hereJackson Scholz is born here
  7. 1899Born hereDon R. Pears is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1937Born herePeggy Cramer is born here
  11. 1940In the archiveClark Equipment Co
  12. 1990In the archiveAmtrak train crossing Lake Topinabee, March 1990
By decade

Buchanan, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1940s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s1 item
Clark Equipment Co1940Clark Equipment Co
1950s–1980snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1990s2 items
Amtrak train crossing Lake Topinabee, March 19901990Amtrak train crossing Lake Topinabee, March 1990Amtrak train rounding the curve at Buchanan, February 19901990Amtrak train rounding the curve at Buchanan, February…
Today14 recent
Buchanan 19-09-20 0602019Buchanan 19-09-20 060The Fulton House2017The Fulton HouseCotton House2017Cotton House119 Front St2017119 Front StMcCoy Creek2014McCoy CreekPears Mill P82100102010Pears Mill P8210010Historic area P82100052010Historic area P8210005Historic area P82100042010Historic area P8210004Historic area P82100032010Historic area P8210003Historic area P82100022010Historic area P8210002Historic area P82100012010Historic area P8210001Farmers Market P82100072010Farmers Market P8210007Farmers Market P82100062010Farmers Market P8210006Buchanan North and West Historic District Map2001Buchanan North and West Historic District MapMap
On the map

Buchanan on the map, 1927 to 1980

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Buchanan. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Buchanan on the 1927 USGS mapBuchanan on the 1930 USGS mapBuchanan on the 1943 USGS mapBuchanan on the 1971 USGS mapBuchanan on the 1980 USGS map1927Niles sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Buchanan.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Clark Equipment Co
Retake this viewClark Equipment Co, 1940

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Buchanan’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Buchanan, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 5,341

Between 1,702 and 5,341 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Buchanan’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Buchanan

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Jackson ScholzAthletics competitor · b. 1897
Harry NilesAmerican baseball player · b. 1880
Don R. PearsAmerican politician · b. 1899
P
Peggy CramerBaseball player · b. 1937
Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

Buchanan’s post office has been open since 1848.

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Buchanan
BuchananDragooOak Ridge

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Buchanan’s history

What year was Buchanan founded?

In 1842, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Buchanan’s post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1870 counted 1,702 people here.

How does Buchanan rank for history?

Buchanan is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #22 of 701 in Michigan. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Buchanan?

6 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Union Block (listed 2007, the first), and 4 historic districts with 599 contributing buildings. 601 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Buchanan?

28% of Buchanan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1960.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.