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 10,000 acres (40 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.