Florida Governor Cary A. Hardee appointed Peter Buchan (pronounced BUCK-en) to be the first Sarasota County Commissioner from Englewood when Sarasota County was separated from Manatee County in 1921. Pete Buchan served on the County Commission for twenty-one years. His untiring efforts to have a paved road connecting Englewood with Sarasota earned him the title, "Father of the Englewood Road."
During and after his long tenure on the Commission, Buchan improved Englewood with recreation areas and an airfield. He enabled Sarasota County to acquire beachfront property that is now Blind Pass Park at no cost. In 1949, he led the county to pay $100 for land for an airfield that was later named Buchan's Airfield in his honor. He also helped the county acquire ten acres,
which is now the Orange Street Recreation Center.
When Buchan came to the area in 1902, he worked for the Chadwick brothers. In 1908, he worked for Herbert K. Nichols, one of the original developers who platted Englewood. In 1913, Nichols sold Buchan the building and business for the store and post office (the land was leased) for $315.
Later Buchan built a 250-foot dock on Lemon Bay. Since there were only rough trails to link Englewood with neighboring communities, all supplies for Englewood came into Buchan's Landing. In 1916, he built his home, store, and post office at the landing.
Buchan was the postmaster of the little Englewood Post Office. His son-in-law, Jack Tate, tells that in order to meet minimum mailing requirements to keep the post office open, the Buchans made small boxes of wood from packing crates so they could mail single grapefruits.