Michigan has beautiful places…historic places…scenic places…pleasant, welcoming, interesting, intriguing, and exciting places. But what would the criteria be for ‘The Nicest Place in Michigan’? Someone has that figured out.

Reader's Digest named the Berrien County town of Buchanan as "The Nicest Place in Michigan." The residents of Buchanan go all out every Memorial Day. A huge 10-by-19-foot American flag greets you as you enter town. The annual Memorial Day parade features many floats and local celebrities, the school band, fire trucks, police cars, and more. But the patriotism doesn’t stop at Memorial Day…it lasts all year long.

When the pandemic hit and the parade was cancelled, town residents came up with an alternate plan: they hung flags, photos and banners of local veterans and active military servers all up and down the downtown street. Soon they had more photos than posts and poles to put them on!

In the current nationwide state of affairs with so much intolerance, it appears intolerance mostly comes to an end in Buchanan. One hometowner was quoted on the Reader’s Digest site: “It doesn’t matter to us one bit where you came from or what you believe: You are welcome here.”

And, according to the mayor, “Our designation as the ‘Nicest Place in America’ by the Readers Digest is due in no small part to our large number of community volunteers…..being a good neighbor builds a stronger community and that we all must do our part to create the kind of place we want to call home.”

The gallery below has some great old photos of Buchanan!

The Nicest Place in Michigan: Buchanan

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