Lenox

Basic Information

Type of Place

Independent City or Town

Metro Area

Politics c. 1860?

Unions, Organized Labor?

Sundown Town Status

Sundown Town in the Past?

Surely

Was there an ordinance?

Perhaps, Some Oral Evidence

Sign?

Don’t Know

Year of Greatest Interest

Still Sundown?

Don’t Know

Census Information

The available census data from 1860 to the present

	Total	White	Black	Asian	Native	Hispanic	Other	BHshld
1860
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000	1,303	1,281	0	4	0
2010
2020

Method of Exclusion

• Private Bad Behavior

Main Ethnic Group(s)

• Unknown

Group(s) Excluded

• Black

Comments

“City clerks in both Lenox and New Market say they,
too, remember the sundown ordinances in their
towns.
“‘Lenox was violently opposed to blacks. It was well
known,’ said Helen Janson, the president of the Taylor
County Historical Society…
“Just 10 years ago, when Stanton met Lenox in a high
school football game, a racial incident erupted.
“Dave Burham, a biracial Stanton player, had recently
moved to Iowa to live with his grandfather, Bobby
Burham. The 15 year old claimed he was beaten
following a game and racial slurs were directed toward
him.
“‘Dave is of mixed race,’ said Bobby Burham of his
white daughter’s son. ‘As he was leaving the field, fans
had gathered at the exit. He had a Mohawk and
someone yelled, “Nice hair, n—–.” Dave had a sense
of humor. He told them it was Velcro that kept his
helmet on.'”
“Then, his grandfather reports, he was pushed in the
back; students and adults piled on top of him, kicking
and swinging until the Stanton football coach noticed
the mayhem and rescued him.
“A year later, a Taylor County grand jury decided no
charges would be filed. Athletic events were canceled
between the two schools.”
-“Racism Lurking at Sundown”, Des Moines Register,
27 February 2006