Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, alongside Colorado U.S. Representatives Ken Buck, Joe Neguse and Jason Crow called on the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) to include Weld County’s Dearfield Settlement – once Colorado’s largest Black American homestead – in the National Park System.
“The Dearfield Homestead was one of more than a dozen African American agricultural settlements established in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as part of a larger movement inspired by Booker T. Washington to promote Black land ownership and economic independence,” wrote Bennet, Hickenlooper, Buck, Neguse and Crow. “[T]he settlers of Dearfield authored an important chapter of Colorado’s history, and by preserving this site for future generations we can continue to honor them.”
At its peak, Dearfield expanded to as many as 300 residents farming over 15,000 acres and included a hotel and multiple churches, restaurants and businesses. The Settlement was a thriving agricultural community until the hardships brought on by the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression led many residents to leave. Today, a gas station, diner, and Dearfield founder Oliver Toussaint Jackson’s home remain standing. Jackson’s home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
NPS is currently evaluating the site after Hickenlooper and Bennet introduced the Dearfield Study Act in September 2022. The provision was signed into law through the Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus funding bill and directed the U.S. Department of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the Dearfield Homestead to determine its suitability as a unit of the National Park System.
NPS will evaluate the site based on four criteria: 1. National significance, 2. Suitability, 3. Feasibility, and 4. Need for National Park Service management. There must be positive findings in all four categories for the settlement to be considered for national park status.
The text of the letter is available HERE and below.
Dear Director Sams,
Thank you for your recent steps to consider the historic Dearfield Settlement for inclusion in the National Park System. As you know, Dearfield was founded in 1910 in Weld County, Colorado, and eventually became the largest Black American homestead in the state. As you conduct a special resource study on the suitability of this site for the National Park System, we urge you to seek robust public input, which we believe will help make the case for recognizing the significance of this site.
The Dearfield Homestead was one of more than a dozen African American agricultural settlements established in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as part of a larger movement inspired by Booker T. Washington to promote Black land ownership and economic independence. At its peak, Dearfield expanded to as many as 300 residents farming over 15,000 acres, and included multiple churches, restaurants, businesses, and a hotel.
Dearfield was a thriving agricultural community until the hardships brought on by the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression led many residents to leave. Today, a gas station, diner, and Dearfield founder Oliver Toussaint Jackson’s home—which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995—remain standing. But even with these few remaining tangible reminders of their legacy, the settlers of Dearfield authored an important chapter of Colorado’s history, and by preserving this site for future generations we can continue to honor them.
Thank you for opening the current special resource study, and for convening public information sessions in the days to come. We stand ready to assist as you work to better understand the significance of this site for telling our shared national story.
Sincerely,