WELD COUNTY, Colo. — U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper (D - Colorado) said the state will receive an answer in the coming years regarding Dearfield's potential for inclusion in the National Park Service (NPS) system.
In the early part of the 20th century, Dearfield — located 25 miles east of Greeley in Weld County — blossomed into Colorado’s most successful Black agricultural town, attracting African Americans from all over who were interested in farming.
Dearfield was founded in 1910 by Oliver Toussaint (O.T.) Jackson, an African American who worked for several governors as a messenger. It reached its peak in the late 1910s and early 1920s, but the Dust Bowl blew away the soil and their dreams in the 1930s. The trailblazing legacy of Dearfield, however, lives on.
"My great-great grandparents knew about Dearfield when it started in 1910," said Terri Gentry, a descendant of Dearfield residents. "They purchased the land in 1918. They worked very hard to save every penny they had to buy that land."
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Hickenlooper joined historians and Dearfield descendants at the Black American West Museum & Heritage Center in Denver on Thursday and shared an update on the process to have the town included in the NPS system.
"We've heard nothing but good things about it," Hickenlooper said. "And so we're pushing really hard."
A provision in the omnibus bill signed by President Joe Biden directed the U.S. Department of the Interior to study the town’s history and "determine the suitability and feasibility of designating the study area as a unit of the National Park System." The federal government then launched a special resource study (SRS) in January.
Hickenlooper said it could take two to five to learn whether Dearfield will gain the designation.
Tracy Coppola, senior program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, said the public comment period for the effort recently ended.
"That allows the Park Service to hear why this place is so important to the American public at large and definitely why it should be protected," said Coppola.
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The National Park Service will consider the comments and then make a recommendation to the Department of the Interior.
Hickenlooper said the designation would bring the town national attention and more.
"Some of the historic buildings that are very rundown now would be restored back to the way they were," he said.
According to the National Park Service, a few deserted buildings remain in Dearfield, including a gas station, a diner, and Jackson's home. The town was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
