Consolidation Coal Company (Iowa)
Encyclopedia
The Consolidation Coal Company was created in 1875 and purchased by the Chicago and North Western Railroad in 1880 in order to provide a local source of coal. The company originally operated at Muchakinock in Mahaska County, Iowa
, until the coal resources of that area were largely exhausted. In 1900, the company purchased 10000 acres (40.5 km²) in southern Mahaska County and northern Monroe County, Iowa
. The company built the town of Buxton in Northern Monroe County, and moved its headquarters there. Consolidation's Mine No. 18 in Buxton was probably the largest bituminous coal
mine in Iowa. In 1914, Buxton was the largest town "populated and governed entirely or almost entirely by Negros" in the United States.
Consolidation was one of the very first northern industrial
employers to make large-scale use of African American labor.
As such, it helped pave the way for the Great Migration
of the early 20th century.
where the creek flows into the Des Moines River
. In 1873, the Iowa Central Railroad built a branch along Muchakinock Creek.
The Consolidation Coal Company was formed in 1875 by the merger of the Iowa Central Coal Company, the Black Diamond Mines of Coalfield, in Monroe County, Iowa
, and the Eureka Mine, in Beacon, Iowa. By 1878, Consolidation Coal Company had 400 employees, and in 1880, it was purchased by the Chicago and North Western Railway
.
The coal camp at Muchakinock was about 5 miles (8 km) south of Oskaloosa
41°13′20.03"N 92°38′25.86"W quickly grew into one of the most prosperous and largest coal camps in Iowa. Consolidation Mine No. 1 was opened in 1873.
In 1880, there was a labor dispute in Muchakinock, and J. E. Buxton, Consolidation's superintendent, sent Major Thomas Shumate south to hire hire African Americans as strike breakers. Shumate hired "lots of crowds" of "colored men" from Virginia
. Whole families arrived with each "crowd". "Bringing these men to the mines, and the employment of colored miners was a new thing". The first "crowd" arrived in Muchakinock on March 5, 1880. By October 6, 1880 Shumate had brought in six "crowds". The "third crowd" filled one railroad passenger car. It left Staunton, Virginia
on May 12 and traveled via Chicago and Marshalltown, Iowa
, arriving in Muchakinock on May 15. Rail fare from Virginia to Iowa was $12, taken as an advance against each miner's monthly wages.
The new African American employees proved so satisfactory that they were retained, and in years to come, much of the wealth of the company was attributed to their labor.
In 1884, the Chicago and Northwestern completed a 64 miles (103 km) branch from Belle Plaine to Muchakinock. By then, Mines 1, 2, 3 and 5 were in operation in Muchakinock. No. 6 was a shaft mine, newly opened just north of the camp.
By 1887, the African American workers in Muchakinock had organized a mutual protection society. Members paid fifty cents a month, or $1 per family. 80% of this paid for health insurance, while the remainder went into a sinking fund to cover members' burial expenses. The coal company acted as banker to this society.
By 1893, Consolidation Mines No. 6 and 7, located about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Oskaloosa, produced 1550 tons of coal per day, employing 489 men and boys. No. 6 had a 130 feet (39.6 m) shaft, while No. 7 had a 45 feet (13.7 m) shaft. Both mines worked the same 6 feet (1.8 m) coal seam, using the double-entry room and pillar
system of mining.
Mine No. 8 was three miles (5 km) northwest of Muchakinock.
The Bituminous Coal Miners' Strike of 1894 lasted from late April through May of that year. All of Iowa's coal miners went on strike, with the exception of the miners at Muchakinock and Evans (8 miles north along Muchakinock Creek). Tensions were high enough that the company management armed Muchakinock's black miners with Springfield rifles. By May 28, tension was so high that Companies G and K of the Second Regiment of the Iowa National Guard were sent to Muchakinock to preserve order. On May 30, large bodies of armed strikers, from 400 to 600 men, were congregating in Mahaska County, apparently intent on forcing the nearby mining camp of Evans to strike as the first stage of an attack on Muchakinock. In the end, no shots were fired.
African Americans headed numerous institutions in Muchakinock. There was a "colored" Baptist church in town, under Rev. T. L. Griffith. Samuel J. Brown, the first African American to receive a bachelor's degree
from the State University of Iowa, was principal of the Muchakinock public school. B. F. Cooper was noted as one of only two "colored" pharmacists in the state.
Muchakinock reached a peak population of about 2,500, but by 1900, the coal of the Muchakinock valley was largely exhausted, and the Consolidation Coal Company opened a new mining camp in Buxton. The founding of Buxton in 1901 led to a "great exodus," leaving the town nearly vacant by 1904. Today, acid mine drainage and red piles of shale are all that remain of the mines along Muchakinock Creek.
Bluff Creek, but this changed at the dawn of the 20th century.
In 1900 and 1901, after extending the Muchakinock branch of the Chicago and North Western tracks across the Des Moines River, the Consolidation Coal Company opened a new mining camp at Buxton, in Monroe County
41°9′30"N 92°49′15.63"W. The camp was named by B. C. Buxton after his father, J. E. Buxton, who had managed the mines at Muchakinock.
Consolidation Mine No. 10 was about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Buxton, with a 119 feet (36.3 m) shaft and a 69 feet (21 m) headframe
, working a coal seam that varied from 4 to 7 feet (2.1 m) thick. The hoists could lift 4 cars to the surface in a minute, each carrying up to 1.5 tons of coal. Electric haulage was used in the mines, using a combination of third-rail, trolley wire, and rack-and-pinion haulage. Mine No. 11, opened in 1902, was about a mile south of No. 10, with a 207 feet (63.1 m) shaft. By 1908, Consolidation had opened Mine No. 15. All of the Buxton mines worked a coal seam about 54 inches thick.
In 1901, Consolidation's miners organized locals 1799 and 2106 of the United Mine Workers
union, with memberships of 493 and 691 respectively. Local 2106 immediately became the largest union local in Iowa, in any trade.. At that time, Consolidation's mines were described as being "worked almost entirely by colored miners." In 1913, the Buxton UMWA union local was reported to have "at least 80 percent colored men". With 1508 members, Local 1799 at Buxton was the largest UMWA local in the country. The benevolent society established at Muchakinock continued in operation at Buxton, as the Buxton Mining Colony.
Buxton was a classic company town
; it was unincorporated, and the company was the sole landlord. In the words of one commentator, "Mr. Buxton ... has not attempted to build up a democracy. On the contrary he has built up an autocracy and he is the autocrat, albeit a benevolent one." Booker T. Washington described justice in Buxton as being "administered in a rather summary frontier fashion" that reminded him "of the methods formerly employed in some of the frontier towns farther west."
The Consolodation Coal Company took a paternal attitude towards the town. In 1908, the town covered approximately one square mile, with about 1000 houses, typically with 5 or 6 rooms each. Everything was owned by the coal company. Rental housing was only available to married couples, at a rate of $5.50 to $6.50 per month. Single men were not permitted, and families having any kind of disorder were evicted on 5 days' notice. The average wage in the mines was $3.63 per day in 1908, when the mines employed 1239 men. Monthly wages varied from $70.80 for day laborers, but about 100 men made over $140 per month.
As in Muchakinock, African Americans held many leadership roles. The postmaster, superintendent of schools, most of the teachers, two justices of the peace, two constibles and two deputy sheriffs were African American. The Bank of Buxton, with deposits in 1907 of $106,796.38, had only one cashier, also African American, and one of the civil engineers working for the mining company was African American. For a brief time between 1903 and 1905, The Buxton Eagle was Buxton's newspaper. Edward A. Carter, MD, the first "colored" graduate of the University of Iowa
College of Medicine, came to Buxton as assistant physician to the Buxton Mining Colony, and went on to be company surgeon to the mining company as well as the Chicago and Northwestern Railway.
Richard R. Wright Jr. wrote in 1908 that "The relations of the white minority to the black majority are most cordial. No case of assault by a black man on a white woman has ever been heard of in Buxton. Both races go to school together; both work in the same mines, clerk in the same stores, and live side by side." In the same year, Booker T. Washington
wrote of Buxton as "a colony of some four or five thousand Colored people ... to a large extent, a self-governing colony, but it is a success." He recommended a study of Buxton to a textile manufacturer interested in raising capital for a cotton mill employing black labor.
By 1908, as mines 11 and 13 were almost exhausted, the population of Buxton was about 5000. Unlike smaller company towns where miners usually lived within walking distance of the mines, Buxton's mines were spread out over a considerable distance, so commuter trains were run to ferry the men to the mines.
The coal company gave the YMCA
free use of a building, valued at $20,000. The YMCA had a reading room and library, gym, baths, kitchen, dining room, and a meeting hall available for use of labor unions and lodges. The Buxton YMCA drew "the color line" and did "not allow white men in the membership," although they were "allowed to attend the entertainments, a privilege freely used." The Buxton YMCA offered a variety of adult education
programs, including literacy and hygiene
classes, as well as a variety of public lectures. The YMCA also controlled the Opera House, keeping out "objectionable and immoral shows."
As is typical of mining company towns, there was a company store, the Monroe Mercantile Company. This was a big operation, with 72 employees, some paid as much as $68 per month, and many of them African Americans. There were also barber shops, a tailor shop, a butcher shop, and a hotel, all run by African Americans.
In 1919, Mine No. 18 at Buxton was the most productive coal mine
in Iowa. This mine employed 498 men year round, producing almost 300,000 tons in that year, which was over 5% of the total production for the state. The remains of Mine No. 18 were dynamited in 1944.
In 1938, the Federal Writers Project Guide to Iowa reported that the site of Buxton was abandoned and that the locations of Buxton's former "stores, churches and schoolhouses are marked only by stakes." Every September, hundreds of former Buxton residents met on the former town's site for a reunion.
The abandoned Buxton town was the subject of archaeological survey in the 1980s which investigated the economic and social aspects of material culture of African Americans in Iowa.
Mahaska County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 22,381 in the county, with a population density of . There were 9,766 housing units, of which 8,975 were occupied.-2000 census:...
, until the coal resources of that area were largely exhausted. In 1900, the company purchased 10000 acres (40.5 km²) in southern Mahaska County and northern Monroe County, Iowa
Monroe County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 7,970 in the county, with a population density of . There were 3,884 housing units, of which 3,213 were occupied.-2000 census:...
. The company built the town of Buxton in Northern Monroe County, and moved its headquarters there. Consolidation's Mine No. 18 in Buxton was probably the largest bituminous coal
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
mine in Iowa. In 1914, Buxton was the largest town "populated and governed entirely or almost entirely by Negros" in the United States.
Consolidation was one of the very first northern industrial
employers to make large-scale use of African American labor.
As such, it helped pave the way for the Great Migration
Great Migration (African American)
The Great Migration was the movement of 6 million blacks out of the Southern United States to the Northeast, Midwest, and West from 1910 to 1970. Some historians differentiate between a Great Migration , numbering about 1.6 million migrants, and a Second Great Migration , in which 5 million or more...
of the early 20th century.
Muchakinock
Also spelled Muchachinock and more rarely Muchikinock. Coal mining along Muchakinock creek dates back to 1843, when local blacksmiths mined coal from exposures along the creek. By 1867, there were small drift mines all along Muchakinock Creek down to EddyvilleEddyville, Iowa
Eddyville is a city in Mahaska, Monroe, and Wapello Counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 1,024 at the 2010 census.-History:...
where the creek flows into the Des Moines River
Des Moines River
The Des Moines River is a tributary river of the Mississippi River, approximately long to its farther headwaters, in the upper Midwestern United States...
. In 1873, the Iowa Central Railroad built a branch along Muchakinock Creek.
The Consolidation Coal Company was formed in 1875 by the merger of the Iowa Central Coal Company, the Black Diamond Mines of Coalfield, in Monroe County, Iowa
Monroe County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 7,970 in the county, with a population density of . There were 3,884 housing units, of which 3,213 were occupied.-2000 census:...
, and the Eureka Mine, in Beacon, Iowa. By 1878, Consolidation Coal Company had 400 employees, and in 1880, it was purchased by the Chicago and North Western Railway
Chicago and North Western Railway
The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
.
The coal camp at Muchakinock was about 5 miles (8 km) south of Oskaloosa
Oskaloosa, Iowa
Oskaloosa is the county seat of Mahaska County, Iowa, United States. The population was 11,463 in the 2010 census, an increase from 10,938 in the 2000 census. -History:...
41°13′20.03"N 92°38′25.86"W quickly grew into one of the most prosperous and largest coal camps in Iowa. Consolidation Mine No. 1 was opened in 1873.
In 1880, there was a labor dispute in Muchakinock, and J. E. Buxton, Consolidation's superintendent, sent Major Thomas Shumate south to hire hire African Americans as strike breakers. Shumate hired "lots of crowds" of "colored men" from Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Whole families arrived with each "crowd". "Bringing these men to the mines, and the employment of colored miners was a new thing". The first "crowd" arrived in Muchakinock on March 5, 1880. By October 6, 1880 Shumate had brought in six "crowds". The "third crowd" filled one railroad passenger car. It left Staunton, Virginia
Staunton, Virginia
Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....
on May 12 and traveled via Chicago and Marshalltown, Iowa
Marshalltown, Iowa
Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States. The population was 27,552 in the 2010 census, an increase from the 26,009 population in the 2000 census. -History:...
, arriving in Muchakinock on May 15. Rail fare from Virginia to Iowa was $12, taken as an advance against each miner's monthly wages.
The new African American employees proved so satisfactory that they were retained, and in years to come, much of the wealth of the company was attributed to their labor.
In 1884, the Chicago and Northwestern completed a 64 miles (103 km) branch from Belle Plaine to Muchakinock. By then, Mines 1, 2, 3 and 5 were in operation in Muchakinock. No. 6 was a shaft mine, newly opened just north of the camp.
By 1887, the African American workers in Muchakinock had organized a mutual protection society. Members paid fifty cents a month, or $1 per family. 80% of this paid for health insurance, while the remainder went into a sinking fund to cover members' burial expenses. The coal company acted as banker to this society.
By 1893, Consolidation Mines No. 6 and 7, located about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Oskaloosa, produced 1550 tons of coal per day, employing 489 men and boys. No. 6 had a 130 feet (39.6 m) shaft, while No. 7 had a 45 feet (13.7 m) shaft. Both mines worked the same 6 feet (1.8 m) coal seam, using the double-entry room and pillar
Room and pillar
Room and pillar is a mining system in which the mined material is extracted across a horizontal plane while leaving "pillars" of untouched material to support the roof overburden leaving open areas or "rooms" underground...
system of mining.
Mine No. 8 was three miles (5 km) northwest of Muchakinock.
The Bituminous Coal Miners' Strike of 1894 lasted from late April through May of that year. All of Iowa's coal miners went on strike, with the exception of the miners at Muchakinock and Evans (8 miles north along Muchakinock Creek). Tensions were high enough that the company management armed Muchakinock's black miners with Springfield rifles. By May 28, tension was so high that Companies G and K of the Second Regiment of the Iowa National Guard were sent to Muchakinock to preserve order. On May 30, large bodies of armed strikers, from 400 to 600 men, were congregating in Mahaska County, apparently intent on forcing the nearby mining camp of Evans to strike as the first stage of an attack on Muchakinock. In the end, no shots were fired.
African Americans headed numerous institutions in Muchakinock. There was a "colored" Baptist church in town, under Rev. T. L. Griffith. Samuel J. Brown, the first African American to receive a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from the State University of Iowa, was principal of the Muchakinock public school. B. F. Cooper was noted as one of only two "colored" pharmacists in the state.
Muchakinock reached a peak population of about 2,500, but by 1900, the coal of the Muchakinock valley was largely exhausted, and the Consolidation Coal Company opened a new mining camp in Buxton. The founding of Buxton in 1901 led to a "great exodus," leaving the town nearly vacant by 1904. Today, acid mine drainage and red piles of shale are all that remain of the mines along Muchakinock Creek.
Buxton
As early as 1888, a few small mines were in operation alongBluff Creek, but this changed at the dawn of the 20th century.
In 1900 and 1901, after extending the Muchakinock branch of the Chicago and North Western tracks across the Des Moines River, the Consolidation Coal Company opened a new mining camp at Buxton, in Monroe County
Monroe County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 7,970 in the county, with a population density of . There were 3,884 housing units, of which 3,213 were occupied.-2000 census:...
41°9′30"N 92°49′15.63"W. The camp was named by B. C. Buxton after his father, J. E. Buxton, who had managed the mines at Muchakinock.
Consolidation Mine No. 10 was about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Buxton, with a 119 feet (36.3 m) shaft and a 69 feet (21 m) headframe
Headframe
A headframe is the structural frame above an underground mine shaft. Modern headframes are built out of steel, concrete or a combination of both...
, working a coal seam that varied from 4 to 7 feet (2.1 m) thick. The hoists could lift 4 cars to the surface in a minute, each carrying up to 1.5 tons of coal. Electric haulage was used in the mines, using a combination of third-rail, trolley wire, and rack-and-pinion haulage. Mine No. 11, opened in 1902, was about a mile south of No. 10, with a 207 feet (63.1 m) shaft. By 1908, Consolidation had opened Mine No. 15. All of the Buxton mines worked a coal seam about 54 inches thick.
In 1901, Consolidation's miners organized locals 1799 and 2106 of the United Mine Workers
United Mine Workers
The United Mine Workers of America is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners and coal technicians. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the United States and Canada...
union, with memberships of 493 and 691 respectively. Local 2106 immediately became the largest union local in Iowa, in any trade.. At that time, Consolidation's mines were described as being "worked almost entirely by colored miners." In 1913, the Buxton UMWA union local was reported to have "at least 80 percent colored men". With 1508 members, Local 1799 at Buxton was the largest UMWA local in the country. The benevolent society established at Muchakinock continued in operation at Buxton, as the Buxton Mining Colony.
Buxton was a classic company town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
; it was unincorporated, and the company was the sole landlord. In the words of one commentator, "Mr. Buxton ... has not attempted to build up a democracy. On the contrary he has built up an autocracy and he is the autocrat, albeit a benevolent one." Booker T. Washington described justice in Buxton as being "administered in a rather summary frontier fashion" that reminded him "of the methods formerly employed in some of the frontier towns farther west."
The Consolodation Coal Company took a paternal attitude towards the town. In 1908, the town covered approximately one square mile, with about 1000 houses, typically with 5 or 6 rooms each. Everything was owned by the coal company. Rental housing was only available to married couples, at a rate of $5.50 to $6.50 per month. Single men were not permitted, and families having any kind of disorder were evicted on 5 days' notice. The average wage in the mines was $3.63 per day in 1908, when the mines employed 1239 men. Monthly wages varied from $70.80 for day laborers, but about 100 men made over $140 per month.
As in Muchakinock, African Americans held many leadership roles. The postmaster, superintendent of schools, most of the teachers, two justices of the peace, two constibles and two deputy sheriffs were African American. The Bank of Buxton, with deposits in 1907 of $106,796.38, had only one cashier, also African American, and one of the civil engineers working for the mining company was African American. For a brief time between 1903 and 1905, The Buxton Eagle was Buxton's newspaper. Edward A. Carter, MD, the first "colored" graduate of the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
College of Medicine, came to Buxton as assistant physician to the Buxton Mining Colony, and went on to be company surgeon to the mining company as well as the Chicago and Northwestern Railway.
Richard R. Wright Jr. wrote in 1908 that "The relations of the white minority to the black majority are most cordial. No case of assault by a black man on a white woman has ever been heard of in Buxton. Both races go to school together; both work in the same mines, clerk in the same stores, and live side by side." In the same year, Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
wrote of Buxton as "a colony of some four or five thousand Colored people ... to a large extent, a self-governing colony, but it is a success." He recommended a study of Buxton to a textile manufacturer interested in raising capital for a cotton mill employing black labor.
By 1908, as mines 11 and 13 were almost exhausted, the population of Buxton was about 5000. Unlike smaller company towns where miners usually lived within walking distance of the mines, Buxton's mines were spread out over a considerable distance, so commuter trains were run to ferry the men to the mines.
The coal company gave the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
free use of a building, valued at $20,000. The YMCA had a reading room and library, gym, baths, kitchen, dining room, and a meeting hall available for use of labor unions and lodges. The Buxton YMCA drew "the color line" and did "not allow white men in the membership," although they were "allowed to attend the entertainments, a privilege freely used." The Buxton YMCA offered a variety of adult education
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
programs, including literacy and hygiene
Hygiene
Hygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between...
classes, as well as a variety of public lectures. The YMCA also controlled the Opera House, keeping out "objectionable and immoral shows."
As is typical of mining company towns, there was a company store, the Monroe Mercantile Company. This was a big operation, with 72 employees, some paid as much as $68 per month, and many of them African Americans. There were also barber shops, a tailor shop, a butcher shop, and a hotel, all run by African Americans.
In 1919, Mine No. 18 at Buxton was the most productive coal mine
in Iowa. This mine employed 498 men year round, producing almost 300,000 tons in that year, which was over 5% of the total production for the state. The remains of Mine No. 18 were dynamited in 1944.
In 1938, the Federal Writers Project Guide to Iowa reported that the site of Buxton was abandoned and that the locations of Buxton's former "stores, churches and schoolhouses are marked only by stakes." Every September, hundreds of former Buxton residents met on the former town's site for a reunion.
The abandoned Buxton town was the subject of archaeological survey in the 1980s which investigated the economic and social aspects of material culture of African Americans in Iowa.