Buchanan, Michigan
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Buchanan is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. The population was 4,300 at the 2020 census. The city is located at the southeast corner of Buchanan Township, about west of Niles.


History

The community was named after
James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. He also served as the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvan ...
, 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. In 1941, as part of the Section of Fine Arts arts projects, Gertrude Goodrich painted a mural, ''Production'', in the Buchanan post office. Later painted over, it is in the process of being restored. On April 12, 1979, farms, houses and mobile homes just north of the city were damaged by an F2
tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...
. There were no deaths but several residences sustained significant damage.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.


Demographics


2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 4,456 people, 1,901 households, and 1,136 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,139 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 86.6%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 7.5%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1.2% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 1.3% from other races, and 3.1% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 3.3% of the population. There were 1,901 households, of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.2% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 3.01. The median age in the city was 37.6 years. 24.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.3% were from 25 to 44; 25.6% were from 45 to 64; and 14.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.1% male and 51.9% female.


2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 4,681 people, 1,915 households, and 1,191 families in the city. The population density was . There were 2,098 housing units, for an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 86.26%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 10.23%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1.92%
multiracial The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races (human categorization), races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicity, ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used ...
, 0.60% other races, 0.51% Asian, and 0.47% Native American. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 1.84% of the population. There were 1,915 households, out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.05. The age structure of the population was diffuse, with 25.6% under the age of 18, 9.6% aged 18–24, 29.0% aged 25–44, 21.3% aged 45–64, and 14.5% 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35. Sex ratio was skewed toward females, with 87.5 males for every 100 females of all ages and 83.1 males for every 100 females 18 years or older. Median income was $34,244 for a household and $43,860 for a family. Males had a median income of $32,950 versus $21,857 for females.
Per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
was $16,600. About 10.9% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 14.7% of those younger than 18 and 10.7% of those older than 64.


Economy

Buchanan was historically known as the headquarters for Clark Equipment Company, a manufacturer of truck axles, fork lift trucks, front-end loaders, and other heavy machinery. The company was formed in 1916 out of an acquisition of two other Buchanan companies. Clark left the area in the 1990s, forcing the city to diversify, and a number of smaller businesses took over the buildings Clark essentially donated to the city. Electro-Voice, a manufacturer of high quality audio equipment such as microphones, amplifiers and loudspeakers, was also headquartered in Buchanan. Charlie Schmidt's Place, a merch company specializing in t-shirts, has a location in the south region of Buchanan.


Arts and culture


Attractions

Pears Mill, a flour mill using the water power of the swiftly flowing McCoy Creek, was built in 1857 and still stands. It is open during the summer for visitors. The Tin Shop Theatre, located near Pears Mill, is a small theater with performances in the summer. The seasons run into September and a variety of shows for everyone of any age and any occasion are performed there. Roti Roti Art Center, located near the old Police Station holds art shows and fundraisers all year round Red Bud MX is a racetrack opened in 1973 that hosts a round of the
AMA Motocross Championship The AMA Motocross Championship (commercially known as Pro Motocross Championship) is an American motorcycle racing series. The motocross race series was founded and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1972. The series is ...
on the Independence Day weekend. Many other attractions are located in surrounding Buchanan Township.


Education

Buchanan Community Schools consists of two elementary schools, Ottawa and Moccasin (grades K-4), Buchanan Middle School (grades 5–7), and Buchanan High School.


Infrastructure


Transportation

Buchanan is located north of US 12, west of US 31, north of the US 31 interchange on the Indiana Toll Road (I-80, I-90), and east of I-94 (exit 4 via US 12). The nearest rail hubs are the
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
stations at Niles and New Buffalo, and the South Shore Line station in
South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...
. Commercial air service is provided by the South Bend International Airport, with flights to larger hubs such as
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, Chicago O’Hare,
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
,
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
,
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
,
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Orlando, and St. Petersburg-Clearwater.


Notable people

* Peggy Cramer,
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley, which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...
player for the South Bend Blue Sox, born in Buchanan * Virgil Exner, influential automobile designer for
Studebaker Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers Man ...
, lived in Buchanan during his youth and graduated from Buchanan High School * John Grant, singer-songwriter born in Buchanan * Jack "Sky" Knight, aviation pioneer * Cary Moon, urban planner and politician * Harry Niles, outfielder and second baseman for St. Louis Browns, New York Highlanders,
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
, and Cleveland Naps; born in Buchanan * Jackson Scholz, the 200-m sprint champion in the 1924 Olympics (portrayed in the film ''
Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 historical drama, historical Sports film, sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Summer ...
''), also a successful author; born in Buchanan * Jay Town, United States District Attorney, raised in Buchanan and graduated from Buchanan High School * Hannah Roberts, American BMX freestyle cyclist raised in Buchanan and graduated from Buchanan High School. She is a three time world champion in the UCI Urban Cycling World Championships and silver medalist in freestyle BMX at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.


See also

* List of cities in Michigan


References


External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Berrien County, Michigan Populated places established in 1842 1842 establishments in Michigan