No Roads Lead to Buxton

Buxton, Iowa was founded in 1900, and at its peak had as many as 6,000 residents, the majority of whom were African American. The Consolidation Coal Company, a subsidiary of the Chicago and North Western Railroad (CNW was purchased by Union Pacific in 1995), in Monroe County north of Albia used the town as a base of operations for its pit mines.

The story of Buxton diverges from what one might expect of a small town with a high population of African Americans in the early 1900's. Rather than segregation, integration and opportunity mark the history of this remarkable town.

One historian noted, "In Buxton, there were African American doctors, dentists, druggists, lawyers, mine engineers, music teachers, school teachers, school principals, merchants, farm owners, newspaper editors, and ministers, in addition to railroad workers, coal miners, midwives, cooks, seamstresses, farmers, hair dressers, teamsters, and blacksmiths. African Americans were active members of the United Mine Workers of America union…. Among Buxton's African American population were veterans of the U.S. Army."

The union insisted that African American members be paid the same rate as whites, which contributed to the prosperity of the town. Life was so much better for African Americans in Buxton than, by comparison, most places in the United States, that the Southern Workman, a journal published by the Hampton Institute of Virginia, called it "The Black Man's Utopia."

The Consolidation Coal Company abandoned the town in the early 1920's. Many of the African Americans who lived in Buxton moved to cities across Iowa, such as Des Moines, Waterloo, Davenport, and Cedar Rapids. These people had become accustomed to decent wages, opportunity, and integration, and they became an important part of Iowa's African American middle class, taking pro-union sentiments into new industries and spreading organized labor. Many also became prominent in social circles, business, and civil rights organizations.