by Lee Ann Simmers Dickey
Birth Records from the historic integrated coal-mining community of Buxton, Iowa
Established at the start of the 20th century, the small mining town of Buxton, Iowa displayed a degree of racial integration unheard of elsewhere in the nation. Black and white miners worked side by side digging coal in the Monroe County hills; black and white clerks manned the company store; black and white students shared classrooms. Buxton flourished for two decades, but by the 1920s the coal mines played out and residents moved on. Though the town has long been abandoned, the memories, heritage, and ideals of Buxton live on. A treasure for genealogists, BUXTON BRANCHES lists all recorded births in the community of Buxton.