The Village of Van Buren was laid out on December 28, 1833, by John Trout and George Ensminger on the boundary of Portage and Cass Townships, with 53 lots surrounding a public square, and it was named for Martin Van Buren, who later became the eighth President. The first school, a log cabin one mile west of Van Buren, was built in 1836, and the first post office was established in 1837. The village was incorporated in 1866, when Daniel Frick was elected its first mayor, and by 1870 it had a population of 157. The Toledo, Columbus, and Southern Railroad was completed through Van Buren in 1883. Allen Township, the last township erected in Hancock County, was organized in June 1850 from the west side of Cass Township and the east side of Portage Township, was named for General Ethan Allen, and contained an area of 24 square miles.