The history of Buxton, Iowa, is unique for its times in that a majority of its residents were African American. The Consolidation Coal Company worked for the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad. Having a hard time recruiting white miners, Consolidation Coal sent agents to southern states to hire African-American workers. In 1873, it founded the town of Buxton and opened nearby mines. It grew quickly and, according to one source, became the largest coal town west of the Mississippi. In the 1905 census, the town boasted 2,700 African American and 1,991 whites. The town supported African-American doctors, lawyers and other professionals, and an African-American YMCA with a gymnasium, an indoor swimming pool and many programs for Buxton residents. - from iowaculture.gov

Learn more: https://www.iowapbs.org/iowapathways/mypath/great-buxton and https://iowaculture.gov/history/education/educator-resources/primary-source-sets/buxton-lost-utopia

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