Community Approach

When you have an 1850s plan of the original Buxton settlement, you have a great resource to work with. This somewhat idealized plan shows how each street and each individual farm was laid out. There are 183 buildings shown on the plan, 97 in present-day North Buxton and 86 in South Buxton. The vast majority of these are individual house sites, which indicates a sizable population of the town from its earliest years.

Our first task was to figure out the dimensions of each of the lots. They represent a finer subdivision than the current, modern system. Here, a block of twelve 50-acre farms equals 600 acres. For lots that run north-south, early surveyors laid out lots 33.33 chains north-south by 15 chains east-west. For lots that run east west, and front on Centre Street (now A-D Shadd), surveyors laid out lots 16.66 chains north-south by 30 chains east-west. A chain equals 66 feet.

By laying out the original grid over modern-day Buxton, we are able to locate each of the properties and each of the original building locations within 20 yards of so. We have just about finished the survey in North Buxton. Of course, many of these properties are situated in farmer's fields. If planted in corn or soy beans, we have been able to surface collect on those locations. If planted in wheat, not so. We are also able to situate buildings that lie within present-day yards. Of particular note are perhaps half a dozen sites in North Buxton, including the site of the 1852 Colbert-Henderson house. These properties have intact yards that have never been farmed, and which represent a valuable archaeological resource.