Photograph by Lois Tema Photography.
Buxton seems to be Iowa’s best kept secret.
In 1900, at a time when Jim Crow laws, segregation, and the Ku Klux Klan kept blacks and whites separated, residents in Buxton, Iowa — a thriving coal mining town of 5,000 residents established by Consolidation Coal Company — lived, worked, and went to school side by side. African Americans — miners, teachers, business owners, doctors, lawyers, and more — made up more than half of the population for the first 10 years and remained the largest ethnic group until 1914. Unfortunately, by 1922, Buxton was a ghost town.
The fact that a corporation established an integrated town that treated blacks and whites equal at a time when few did is amazing. The number of successful African Americans — doctors, lawyers, teachers, pharmacists/druggists, wealthy land owners, constables, business owners, and more — is impressive. The more I learned about Buxton, the more I wanted to share what I was uncovering with others.
But I couldn’t fit all the interesting details I was discovering in my first non-fiction book, LOST BUXTON. Nor could I fit them into my second Buxton book, CREATING THE BLACK UTOPIA OF BUXTON, IOWA (released January 29, 2019).
So LostBuxton.com was born. Here, I will share intriguing snippets of history that I stumble upon while working on my new book. From interesting quotes to fascinating people and places and events to helpful books and more. I hope you’ll enjoy it.
In addition to writing non-fiction, I am a senior business analyst, budding photographer, published romance author, and master procrastinator.
There’s a lot more information about me, my events, media, and more at RachelleChase.com. Please stop by!