Buchanan was founded in 1856 as seat of the newly formed Haralson County. It was named for United States President James Buchanan. Buchanan was incorporated as a town in 1857 and as a city in 1902. In 2015, an off-duty GeorgiaState Trooper, Anthony James Scott, crashed into a car while driving his police car at 91 mph in a 55 mph zone, killing two of the occupants and injuring two others. Scott was not responding to any crime or emergency, and was not charged with any crimes. Scott was fired from his job as a state trooper, and was later elected mayor of Buchanan.
Geography
Buchanan is located just east of the center of Haralson County at . U.S. Route 27 bypasses the city to the east, leading north to Cedartown and south to Bremen. According to the United States Census Bureau, Buchanan has a total area of, of which are land and, or 12.42%, are water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 941 people, 345 households, and 221 families residing in the city. The population density was 638.6 people per square mile. There were 380 housing units at an average density of 257.9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 87.14% White, 11.37% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.11% from other races, and 1.17% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.53% of the population. There were 345 households, out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couplesliving together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.7% were non-families. 33.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.02. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.8% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $23,269, and the median income for a family was $26,964. Males had a median income of $24,205 versus $16,458 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,821. About 20.5% of families and 22.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.4% of those under age 18 and 19.8% of those age 65 or over.
The Haralson County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of four elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 231 full-time teachers and over 3,766 students.
