The Buxton Wonders was a small club of black

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

players formed in

Buxton, Iowa The Consolidation Coal Company (BBC) was founded in 1875 in Iowa and purchased by the Chicago and North Western Railroad in 1880 in order to secure a local source of coal. The company operated in south central Iowa in Mahaska and Monroe counti ...

, running from approximately 1907 to 1920. Buxton, Iowa, was a

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

founded by the

Consolidation Coal Company Consolidation may refer to: In science and technology * Consolidation (computing), the act of linkage editing in computing * Consolidation (locomotive), popular name of a steam locomotive with a 2-8-0 wheel arrangement * Consolidation (soil), a ...

in 1900. It remained a productive coal mining town until at least 1919. During many of those years, the company and town were host to the Buxton Wonders. The team also toured much of Iowa and the surrounding states. In 1909, the Buxton Wonders won one game and lost one game in Buxton, Iowa, against the

Chicago Union Giants The Leland Giants, originally the Chicago Union Giants, were a Negro league baseball team that competed independently during the first decade of the 20th century. The team was formed via a merge of the Chicago Unions and the Chicago Columbia Gi ...

, facing pitchers, "the Lyons brothers,"

Jimmie Lyons James Henry Lyons (October 9, 1889 – February 8, 1961) was an American baseball player in the Negro leagues. He pitched and played outfield between 1910 and 1925. He played for the Brooklyn Royal Giants, Chicago Giants, Lincoln Giants, St. Lou ...

and Bennie Lyons. The Wonders were one of the few teams to beat the

that year, where the team won 46 out of 56 games played. The Union Giants appear to be regular visitors to Buxton's team. George L. Neal, Richard S. Lee, Washington and Riley Sales are often listed as the managers of the Buxton Wonders, and the team address is 34 East Fourth Street in Buxton, Iowa. A partial team list includes: 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 an archaeological survey in the 1980s, which investigated the economic and social aspects of the material culture of African Americans in Iowa.Gradwohl, David M., and Nancy M. Osborn (1984) ''Exploring Buried Buxton''. Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa.

References

{{Reflist

External links

"Seamheads.com" Buxton Wonders information for 1909
Negro league baseball teams Defunct baseball teams in Iowa Monroe County, Iowa Baseball teams disestablished in 1920 Baseball teams established in 1907 African-American history of Iowa