Buchanan County/Tazewell County

Buchanan County Buchanan County is situated in the heart of Southwest Virginia's coalfields in the Appalachian Plateau and was formed from Tazewell and Russell Counties in 1858. The county is named for James Buchanan who served as president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. The area was first explored about 1750, but few settlers remained permanently until after the Revolutionary War. Timbering was an early industry in the county and it remained sparsely settled until the development of the coal mining industry here in the 1930s. Grundy is the county seat. Tazewell County Tazewell County was formed from Wythe and Russell Counties in 1799, and parts of Logan (now in West Virginia), Russell, Wythe, and Washington Counties were added later. Named for Henry Tazewell (1753-1799) who served as United States Senator for Virginia from 1794 to 1799, the county features Burke’s Garden, a topographically unique elongated basin rimmed entirely by the Garden Mountain. Named after colonial surveyor James Burke, Burke’s Garden is one of the most productive grazing areas in Southwest Virginia. Tazewell is the county seat.