Buchanan Township, Atchison County, Missouri

Buchanan Township
Township
Coordinates: 40°33′52″N 95°39′31″W / 40.5644224°N 95.6586419°W / 40.5644224; -95.6586419
Country United States
State Missouri
CountyAtchison
Area
[1]
 • Total
42.02 sq mi (108.8 km2)
 • Land41.25 sq mi (106.8 km2)
 • Water0.77 sq mi (2.0 km2)  1.83%
Elevation
[2]
906 ft (276 m)
Population
 (2020)[3]
 • Total
65
 • Density1.6/sq mi (0.62/km2)
FIPS code29-00509244[1]
GNIS feature ID766231[2]

Buchanan Township is a township in Atchison County, Missouri, United States.[2] At the 2020 census, its population was 65.[3] The northwest corner of the township is the northwest corner of the entire state.

History

Buchanan Township was established on May 17, 1858,[4] and named after James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States.[5]

Prior to its official incorporation, the western portion was called Bluff Township (or sometimes West Buchanan Township), with the east portion being Buchanan Township (or sometimes East Buchanan Township), until Bluff Township's annexation at the organization of the county in 1845.[4]

Settlements

El Paso[6] was a town in Buchanan Township that was platted in either July 1852[7] or 1853.[4] It was located between the Nishnabotna and Missouri rivers in the southwest quarter of Section 2, Township 66 North, Range 42 West. It was a noted trading point, with a store, a blacksmith, and a post office.[4] The post office was named El Paso and operated from 1856 until 1864.[8] It was the first and only post office established in Buchanan Township.

When the Nishnabotna changed course in the 1860s, a new town called Sacramento (also Sacramento City)[9] was laid out a couple of miles southwest in Section 10. In 1872, the Missouri River changed its course and the two towns were vacated.[7] Much of the buildings and people resettled further from the river in Hamburg, Iowa.[4]

Geography

The Nishnabotna River passes north-south through the township, and Nebraska has a pene-enclave named McKissick Island that comprises most of its southern border.

Lower Hamburg Island, an island of the Missouri River, is located in the westernmost portion of the township and extends slightly into Fremont County, Iowa. The island is within the Lower Hamburg Bend Conservation Area and contains the northwesternmost point in Missouri.[10]

Buchanan Township covers an area of 42.02 square miles (108.8 km2) and contains no incorporated settlements. Buchanan Township has three cemeteries: Clayton-Lewis, Cox Chapel, and Union.[11] Greys Lake is within this township.

Transportation

The following highways travel through the township:[12]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "MO TIGER County Subdivisions". Missouri Spatial Data Information Service. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Buchanan Township, Atchison County, Missouri
  3. 1 2 "Census 2020 DHC Extract Assistance". Missouri Census Data Center. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Moser, Arthur Paul (1980). "Moser's Directory of Atchison County, Missouri". Springfield-Greene County Library District. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Atchison County Place Names, 1928-1945 (archived)". The State Historical Society of Missouri. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. ↑ "Atchison County, Missouri Physical Features". Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Place Names. The J. Paul Getty Trust. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Ramsey Place Name Files, 1928-1945 (C2366)". The State Historical Society of Missouri. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Post Offices". Jim Forte Postal History. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Atchison County, Missouri Physical Features". Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Place Names. The J. Paul Getty Trust. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Lower Hamburg Bend Conservation Area". Missouri Department of Conservation. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  11. ↑ Gone But Not Forgotten: Directory of the Deceased, Atchison County, Missouri. Atchison County Historical Society, 1991. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  12. ↑ "County Maps". Missouri Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
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