Folding in Social History

There is a great deal that is known about the Buxton Settlement historically. Census records, church records, tax records, and several historical accounts indicate that it was a prosperous farming community.

For anyone interested, there is a social history that was written by Jonathan Walton in 1979, entitled "Blacks in Buxton and Chatham, Ontario, 1830-1890: Did the 49th Parallel Make A Difference?" Ph.D. Dissertation, Princeton.

The total size of the settlement is about 9,000 acres. By 1852, 350 acres had been cleared and 204 were under crop. By 1854, this area of cultivation had doubled, and by 1857, almost doubled again, bringing a total of 1220 acres under cultivation. Roughly 1/3 was corn, another 1/3 wheat, oats, and potatos, and another 1/3 buckwheat, turnips, hay, and beans. The average number of people per cultivated acre was 2 for Buxton, or roughly half that elsewhere in Raleigh township.

A number of children went to local schools. As early as 1850, there were 16 students. A mere five years later, that number had climbed to 150. This was quite sizable for a town of about 1,000 souls.

In 1861, Buxton had 4 shoemakers, 2 carpenters, 1 blacksmith, and 1 printer. By 1871, there were 4 ministers, 2 shoemakers, 1 harnessmaker, 1 doctor, 1 carpenter, 1 barber, 1 blacksmith, and 1 cooper. Most residents, of course, were farmers.

Perhaps one of the more striking differences between 1861 and today, there were a total of 229 young men and boys and 299 young women and girls below the age of 20 living in Buxton. Today, there are less than 5% of that number.