Buchanan

Buchanan is Liberia's second port, on the coast southeast of Monrovia, and it exists largely because the railway from the Nimba iron ore mines ends here: the ore terminal, the rail yards and the deep-water berths dominate the town. Beaches run along the coast either side and the old settler town with its clapboard houses survives in patches. Fishing canoes work off the shore. The town was named after Thomas Buchanan, an early governor, and was laid out on the settler pattern.

History

In December 1832 black Quakers of the New York and Pennsylvania colonization societies founded the Port Cresson colony here, named after the Philadelphia merchant Elliott Cresson. The town is named after Thomas Buchanan, second governor of Liberia and a cousin of President James Buchanan, and lies near the mouth of the Saint John River (Wikipedia, Buchanan, Liberia).

What's there

• The ore terminal - the railhead and berths the town was built for.
• The beaches - the coast running either side of the port.
• The settler houses - the clapboard fabric surviving from the nineteenth century.
• The fishing canoes - the boats worked off the shore.

When to go

November to April is the dry season. The heavy rains from May to October are severe on this coast. The road from Monrovia takes around three hours.

Good to know

The port dominates and photography around it is restricted. The town is workaday with limited facilities. Currents on the beaches are strong.

Nearby

Monrovia is northwest, and Cestos is southeast.

Key facts