Most of Buchanan Dam was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Its Register listing is the State Highway 29 Bridge at the Colorado River.
Founding year: the first Buchanan Dam post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Buchanan Dam’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Buchanan Dam is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Buchanan Dam’s overall grade.
Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Buchanan Dam’s 6.6 sits above most of its state (83% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Dam’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Buchanan Dam yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Buchanan Dam ( bək-HAN-ən) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Llano County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, Buchanan Dam had a population of 1,508.
Its first post office opened in 1935. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,519 in 2010, 1,508 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Buchanan Dam’s post office has been open since 1935.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Golden Beach
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Buchanan Dam’s history
What year was Buchanan Dam founded?
The Buchanan Dam post office opened in 1935, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Buchanan Dam rank for history?
Buchanan Dam is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns. 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 Dam?
One place: the State Highway 29 Bridge at the Colorado River (listed 1996).
How old are the homes in Buchanan Dam?
0.0% of Buchanan Dam’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
