Lost Buxton

Images of America

by Rachelle Chase, Rachelle Chase

Buxton, Iowa, was an unincorporated coal mining town, established by Consolidation Coal Company in 1900. At a time when Jim Crow laws and segregation kept blacks and whites separated throughout the nation, Buxton was integrated. African American and Caucasian residents lived, worked, and went to school side by side. The company provided miners with equal housing and equal pay, regardless of race, and offered opportunities for African Americans beyond mining. Professional African Americans included a bank cashier, the justice of the peace, constables, doctors, attorneys, store clerks, and teachers. Businesses, such as a meat market, a drugstore, a bakery, a music store, hotels, millinery shops, a saloon, and restaurants, were owned by African Americans. For 10 years, African Americans made up more than half of the population. Unfortunately, in the early 1920s, the mines closed, and today, only a cemetery, a few foundations, and some crumbling ruins remain.

Genres: History, Sociology, Historical

128 pages, Paperback

Published January 9, 2017

About the author

Rachelle Chase is an award-winning romance author, business consultant, speaker, and model who's appeared on national television - CBS, as well as "The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet" - plus national radio shows, including "Playboy Radio," the "Hip-Hop Connection," and the "Jordan Rich Show."

She's published nine books and/or novellas. An excerpt from "Out of Control", her novella in SECRETS VOLUME 13, was used in ON WRITING ROMANCE, published by Writer's Digest Books, to illustrate how to effectively heighten sexual tension in a romance book.

Rachelle has also hosted two live talk shows, SingleMindedWomen.com Talk Radio, which featured popular guests speaking about dating, relationships, parenting, and more, plus "Chatting with Chase," in which she interviewed best-selling authors.

She also founded and co-sponsored the "Chase the Dream" contest for writers with author Leigh Michaels, and frequently offers other fun contests, including the upcoming HOT DREAMS Finding Johnny CONTEST, an online contest which will feature hunky guys competing to be Johnny, the hero in HOT DREAMS.

For more information and to sign-up for her mailing list, please visit www.RachelleChase.com and www.FindingJohnny.com.

Reviews

[Valerie Brandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent read. Tears sprang to my eyes as I pulled up google maps to see what it looks like today. Farm ground.

Buxton….
I’m so glad there was a place in time in people’s lives when they worked hard and had good relationships all over the community and the community thrived for African Americans only 35 years after slavery ended. That feels hopeful. I’m glad I read this book!

[Misty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating and fantastic glimpse at a unique phenomenon in U.S. history: a town that was more or less racially integrated decades before the Civil Rights Act. Like others in this excellent series by Arcadia, the format focuses on historic photographs with explanatory footnotes, and together they create a visual collage of what the town and its residents were like. Chase's observations are smart and insightful, and her research and respect for her subjects clearly shows. The book has spawned a website, Lost Buxton, and there's a sequel in the works. History buffs and civil rights advocates will be amazed by the quality presentation of these pictures and the wonderful story they tell.

[L.M. Elm · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want an in depth look at the history of the integrated town of Buxton, look elsewhere. If you want an abridged history with lots of photographs, this should be sufficient.