Buchanan County, in the heart of Southwest Virginia's coalfields on the Appalachian Plateau, was formed from Tazewell and Russell counties in 1858 and 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, and the county remained sparsely settled until coal mining developed there in the 1930s. Grundy is the county seat. 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. It was named for Henry Tazewell, who served as United States Senator for Virginia from 1794 to 1799. The county includes Burke's Garden, a topographically unique elongated basin rimmed entirely by 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.