Buchanan County is a defunct county that was located in Northeastern Minnesota and was established on May 23, 1857 by the Territorial Legislature. Buchanan County became part of Pine County in 1862 after Pine County voters approved a March 1861 act attaching the county to Pine. Buchanan County was named after Democratic President James Buchanan (1857-1861). Fortuna was the county seat. Sources: Minnesota History Bulletin, Volume IV, 1921-1922"Some Changes In Local Boundaries and Names In Minnesota," (p. 242). White Bear Lake Press, "Speculation, politics, fraud and controversy: The short, colorful history of ‘Buchanan County,'" January 15, 2015.