DENVER — Buried deep within the massive 4,000-page omnibus spending bill President Biden recently signed is a provision that could change the future of one historic Colorado ghost town.
It directs the U.S. Department of the Interior to conduct a special resource study on Dearfield in Weld County "to evaluate the national significance" and whether it should become part of the National Park System.
In the early part of the 20th century, Dearfield blossomed into Colorado’s most successful black agricultural town, attracting African Americans from all over who were interested in farming.
Dearfield was founded by O.T. (Oliver Toussaint) Jackson, an African American who worked for several governors as a messenger.
“He wanted to start a Black farming community,” said Dr. George Junne, an Africana Studies professor at the University of Northern Colorado. “He started off in another community and it didn't work out, so the governor at that time helped him proceed to get the land that is now Dearfield.”
But the Dust Bowl blew away the soil and their dreams.
“O.T. Jackson and some families tried to stay on and some of them into the 1940s. But there's no water out there. So therefore it failed,” said Junne.
Before long, Dearfield became a ghost town.
Junne has spent decades fighting to preserve the town’s history.
“There's a lot of things that are involved in this work,” said Junne, noting how many others have worked alongside him in an effort to preserve Dearfield’s history.
And now the federal government may help preserve that history.
A provision in the omnibus bill the president recently signed, directing the Interior Department 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."
Colorado Senator Michael Bennet and Senator John Hickenlooper joined Representative Ken Buck and Representative Joe Neguse in introducing legislation last year aimed at getting the Interior Department to conduct a study on Dearfield.
“Dearfield is a testament to Black Americans who shaped Colorado’s history,” Hickenlooper said in a press release after introducing his bill with Bennet. “We must honor their legacy and educate future generations by protecting the Dearfield Homestead.”
"America must always be mindful of its past," Buck said after introducing his bill with Neguse. "We cannot properly do that if we do not preserve physical elements of our history. I appreciate the important work that the University of Northern Colorado and the Black American West Museum have done to preserve Dearfield's history thus far, and resources from the National Park Service will help this work continue for years to come."
Junne hopes the study leads to more funding to help pave the way for a walk-in museum or restore some of the dilapidated buildings.
“Everybody deserves to know that history because many people when thinking of the West, don't even think of African Americans,” said Junne. “Black people and other people of color helped to build the West.”
The secretary of the interior has three years to submit a report to Congress with recommendations.