Grand Bassa County is one of the three original counties, along with Montserrado and Sinoe, that first formed the Republic of Liberia. It was established in 1833 and its capital is Buchanan City, named for Thomas Buchanan, an American who served as the first Governor of the Commonwealth of Liberia. The County’s flag is a royal blue cloth with the Liberian flag inserted in the upper left corner and two red and two white stripes in the lower right. The dark blue stands for loyalty, while the stripes represent the four Grand Bassa delegates who signed Liberia’s Declaration of Independence on 26 July 1847, namely Anthony Gardner, John Day, Ephraim Titler, and Amos Herring,.

The County went through a series of political and territorial metamorphoses over the years until, on 18 April 1985, during the administration of Samuel Doe, the part of the County known as River Cess was promoted to status as a County, thus splitting the region away from Grand Bassa. In October 2003, a few days before the end of the mandate of the 51st national Legislature, the County’s previous four districts (District #1, #2, #3, and #4) were divided into its current five statutory districts, nine administrative districts, eleven townships, three cities (Buchanan, Edina, and St. John River City) and forty-five clans. This most recent restructuring has resulted in confusion for many citizens, who still tend to use the names of the previous denominations. Many organizations continue to organize their activities and collect data according to the old structure, contributing to the confusion.