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C−History
History · Buchanan

Buchanan’s post office opened in 1861

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #327 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Most of Buchanan was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: maps from 1954 on.

1861first post office
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Buchanan began

When was Buchanan founded?

1861

The Buchanan post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 6,857165 years

How historic is Buchanan?

C−

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Buchanan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Buchanan’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Buchanan is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #327 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Buchanan’s overall grade.
Founding era1861, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19405.2% of homes (±3.3) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical WI town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 22%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 10%

Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Buchanan’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.3 points). 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’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Buchanan are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · 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
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Buchanan, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Buchanan yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Buchanan is a town in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 6,857 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Darboy is located in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1861. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 6,755 in 2010, 6,857 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Buchanan, 1861 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1861Post officeThe Buchanan post office opens
  3. 1862Post officeThe Buchanan post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Buchanan, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Buchanan Wisconsin Town Hall2015Buchanan Wisconsin Town HallTownOfBuchananSign2007TownOfBuchananSignWIMap-doton-Buchanan2004WIMap-doton-Buchanan
On the map

Buchanan on the map, 1954 to 1992

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 1954 USGS mapBuchanan on the 1974 USGS mapBuchanan on the 1992 USGS map1954De Pere 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.

Famous people

Famous people close to Buchanan

Nobody well known was born in Buchanan itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
W
Willem DafoeAmerican actor · b. 1955
Joseph McCarthyAmerican politician · b. 1908
Esmir BajraktarevićAmerican-Bosnian association football player · b. 2005
Terry ZwigoffAmerican filmmaker · b. 1949
Jeff LoomisAmerican guitarist · b. 1971
Greta Van SusterenAmerican commentator, television personality, a… · b. 1954
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Buchanan had its own post office from 1861 to 1862.

Buchanan
1861–1862
18601940today
Gone or out of use
Speel Schoolschool

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Combined LocksIts storyCKaukauna18 historic placesAKimberly1 historic placeB−Kaukauna1 historic placeA−HarrisonIts storyC−Appleton21 historic placesAHollandIts storyC+WrightstownIts storyB−

Questions about Buchanan’s history

What year was Buchanan founded?

The Buchanan post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Buchanan rank for history?

Buchanan is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #327 of 362 in Wisconsin. 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.

How old are the homes in Buchanan?

5% of Buchanan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1995.

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 (3), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.