Dickinson College

     At age 16, Buchanan left his home in Mercersburg to attend college at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.  He traveled 70 miles to pursue his education.  This "home away from home" was very different from where he had been raised.  In this new atmosphere, he not only studied hard, but he also partied a little too hard at times.  He narrowly escaped two expulsions due to his behavior and actually graduated with honors (http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/buchanan/essays/biography/2).

This is a photograph of what Dickinson College looked like at the time Buchanan attended the institution.