Dearfield: Timeline of Dearfield

O.T. Jackson, ca. early 1900's

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"Buildings and road, Dearfield, Colorado, ca. 1910s?"  
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"Group photo, Dearfield, Colorado, ca. 1920s?"

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"Dust storm in Dearfield, Colorado 1930s"

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Dearfield farm ca. 1970s

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Dearfield was said to be inspired by Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery text, which emphasized the importance of self-reliance, education, and hard work of African Americans. Like many Black people across the West, Colorado's Black community dreamed of a homesteading colony for them to farm and grow a future for themselves, in the face of worsening racial conflicts across the country. In the early 20th century, multiple sites were explored for possible settlement, including near Craig and Pueblo, Colorado. Both of these possibilities fell flat, lacking the support of the Black businessmen of Denver, who were members of the National Negro Business League. O.T. Jackson was the one who pushed and took the initial steps for the homestead colony, beginning his search for land in 1906. While initially, his requests for land were ignored by the state office, with Governor Shafroth’s help Jackson was granted land in Weld County, paying the filing fee for the 320 acres that would comprise the townsite in 1910.

After Jackson’s purchase, he began advertising in newspapers, Church groups, restaurants, and other social gatherings for homesteaders to join him at Dearfield. In 1910, the name “Dearfield” was suggested by Dr. Joseph H.P Westbrook in a community meeting. By the Fall of 1910, fifteen homestead claims were made, multiple of them paid for by O.T. Jackson. A majority of the first homesteaders were poor, past-middle age, laborers, who already were living in Denver. The few men who tried to settle in 1910 lived in dugouts and tents, some of these first homesteaders are noted by Jackson to be James M. Thomas and James A. Matlock. The first real year of settlement was 1911, and seven families were said to have arrived in the fall, bringing with them three teams of horses, and enough fruits and vegetables for part of the winter. That winter was especially harsh, with only two families having wooden houses, and the only fire-fuel being buffalo chips, sage brush, and drift wood carried seven miles from the Platte River. Half of their six horses died from starvation, and the other three were too weak to be of any use. Over the next few years more land was purchased and claimed, some of it built upon and others not. These early homesteaders lived with limited crops, lacking water, and heavy winters. Many men spent the winters in the city in order to make money. Working odd jobs, often for nearby White farmers, was a regular occurrence during the beginning of Dearfield while people were still trying to get their farms established. By 1913 and 1914, Jackson began advertising the fertility and economic opportunity of Dearfield. In January 1915, O.T. held a contest where he offered a Dearfield residential lot to “The best trained young Negro business boy under 20 years of age in Denver,” likely trying to draw more young people to the site. That fall, the first annual fair was held. By 1917, a church, blacksmiths shop, and a cement block factory were all functioning, and the site was profiting from WWI consumption and prices for farm produce.

In 1918 the farmers of Dearfield were utilizing the methods of dry-land farming that they learned over the previous years, and were harvesting good produce, including a large watermelon that was gifted to Governor in 1919. O.T. Jackson started dreaming of more promotional opportunities for Dearfield including a college, and large hotel, and a sanatorium. In 1920 the colony’s population was up to 200 people, and in 1921 the colony was said to be valued at over $1 million, including $750,000 of land value and $125,000 of annual production. The colony was still riding off of the rise in crop prices during the world war, and the community was prospering. They hosted weekend dances and sent children to the Dearfield school when possible. People enjoyed fishing and swimming in the ditches, and racing horses. The land was doing well off of the wet period over the 1910’s. On September 23, 1921, the colony held a celebration marking the first decade living at Dearfield, for many, the future of Dearfield looked bright. However, by 1922, the lingering prosperity from the war has running out, the banks stopped giving out loans, and the rainy 1910’s gave way to dry 1920’s.