The unincorporated community was founded in 1895, developed by the Chicago and Northwestern Railway as a coal mining company town to supply the railroad.

It was a racially integrated community, in 1905 consisting of European immigrants and a majority-African American population, that was developed in the midst of southern Iowa coalfields.

With changes in the industry and conversion of locomotives to electric or diesel operations in the early 20th century, mining declined here.

Consolidation was a division of the Chicago and Northwestern Railway, and it mined coal in Iowa to fuel the company's trains.

All the coal mined there was bought by the railroad, which resulted in steady work for the miners and relatively high wages.

The European Americans included numerous immigrants, who came from Belgium, Bohemia, France, Germany, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and Wales.

The residents developed a strong community, and African Americans made good lives for their families.

Most of the nearby mines were closed in the early 1920s because of decreased demand for coal to power locomotives.

[7] The Chicago and Northwestern Railway ceased operations in the area in 1935, and the tracks were removed the following year.

Subsequently, most of the remaining buildings in the town were torn down, and much of the land is either forested or farmed.