Dearfield

Overview

A dream on dry land

In 1910 Oliver Toussaint Jackson, a successful Black businessman from Boulder, filed on a homestead about 30 miles east of Greeley and began advertising for colonists. He wanted a farming community where Black families could own land and run their own affairs. A Denver doctor, J.H.P. Westbrook, suggested the name, from how dear the land was to the settlers.

The first years were hard on the dry pasture, but by 1920 Dearfield had 200 to 300 people, two churches, a school and a restaurant. In 1921 the town was appraised at more than a million dollars. Bob Brunswig, an emeritus archaeology professor at the University of Northern Colorado, calls it a grand experiment that was well known among Black Americans across the country.

The Depression and drought ended it. Settlers left to find work, and by 1940 only 12 people remained. Jackson tried to sell the town and died in 1948. Dearfield went on the National Register in 1995, and the Black American West Museum has worked to preserve it since 1998.

Timeline

Thirty years on the plains

1. 1910Oliver Toussaint Jackson, a Boulder businessman, files on the homestead that becomes Dearfield and advertises for Black colonists.
2. 1910sThe first settlers struggle to farm the dry pasture through several hard seasons. Dr. J.H.P. Westbrook of Denver suggests the name.
3. 1919–1923The colony's peak. Wikipedia counts 200 to 300 residents, two churches, a school and a restaurant by 1920; the National Park Service says it may have had as many as 300.
4. 1921The town's net worth is appraised at $1,075,000.
5. 1930sThe Depression and drought ruin farming, and settlers leave for work elsewhere.
6. 1940Twelve people remain. Jackson tries to sell the town and finds little interest.
7. Feb 18, 1948O.T. Jackson dies.
8. 1995Dearfield is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
9. 1998The Black American West Museum in Denver begins work to preserve the site.
10. 2001A state historical marker on US 85 near Evans tells Dearfield's story.
11. 2010A monument with the town's history is set beside one of the remaining buildings.
12. 2023Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, the National Park Service studies whether Dearfield belongs in the national park system.

What's left

What you'll see

The National Park Service counts two intact original buildings, a filling station and O.T. Jackson's house, plus the line of the main street, other partly standing or fallen buildings and many archaeological sites. Wikipedia lists a gas station, a diner and the founder's home. A monument put up in 2010 beside one of the buildings tells the town's story.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 authorized a National Park Service study of Dearfield, and the museum's stated goal is a national historic site. We found no published outcome of the study.

The historic maps below start in 1951, long after the boom. That sheet marks Dearfield on US 34 with a handful of buildings, with the Bijou Canal crossing the highway to the east and a windmill to the northwest.

• Filling station
• O.T. Jackson's house
• Partly standing and fallen buildings
• 2010 monument

Historic maps

Dearfield on USGS maps, 1951–1982

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

19511:24,00019611:250,00019821:100,000

Map & directions

Getting there

Greeley is the nearest city. Both routes end on US 34 east of Kersey. From Denver, the route runs up I-76 to Wiggins and north on county roads to the highway.

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

Photos

Dearfield in photos

A small building with a brick chimney, 2018A sagging wooden building, 2018A long building with boarded windowsA roofless building, 2018A green-painted building with a porch, 2018A false-front building with a porch, 2018A long false-front building beside a dirt track, 2018Two buildings with fallen roofs

Visitor reports

Been to Dearfield?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

Thanks. Your report reached us, and we'll read it before it goes on the page.

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Nearby

Other sites near Dearfield

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our Colorado index.

• Roggen10.4 mi SW · Weld
• Buckingham27.2 mi NE · Weld
• Adena27.7 mi SE · Morgan
• Keota30.1 mi N · Weld
• St. Vrain31.3 mi W · Weld
• Sligo35.4 mi N · Weld
• Pierce36.0 mi NW · Weld
• Stoneham38.0 mi NE · Weld

Sources

Sources and credits

1. Wikipedia, "Dearfield, Colorado", retrieved October 2026: founding, the name, 1920 and 1940 population, 1921 value, Jackson's death, remaining buildings, the 1995 listing, the museum's work, the markers.
2. University of Northern Colorado, "Dearfield Dream Project" (May 8, 2023): location off US 34, Bob Brunswig on its place in Black history.
3. "Keeping Colorado's African American history alive with Dearfield," The Mirror (University of Northern Colorado), November 20, 2025: the weathered buildings, Jackson's house as one of two buildings still standing on the property, the planned exhibit and visitor center, no opening date set.
4. National Park Service, Dearfield Special Resource Study newsletter (December 2023): the 2023 authorization, the 1919–1923 peak, the remaining buildings, the museum's ownership of much of the core townsite.
5. Black American West Museum & Heritage Center, "Dearfield Project", read October 2026: the museum's preservation work and its national historic site goal.
6. ghosttowns.com, "Dearfield": fact sheet fields (county, roads, climate, best time).
7. Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026.

Photo and map credits

• A small building with a brick chimney, 2018: Clynnwersch, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
• A sagging wooden building, 2018: Clynnwersch, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
• A long building with boarded windows: Hustvedt, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
• A roofless building, 2018: Clynnwersch, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
• A green-painted building with a porch, 2018: Clynnwersch, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
• A false-front building with a porch, 2018: Clynnwersch, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
• A long false-front building beside a dirt track, 2018: Clynnwersch, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Two buildings with fallen roofs: Hustvedt, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
• Topo map, area base map and aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).
• Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain): Dearfield 1951, 1:24,000; Greeley 1961, 1:250,000; Greeley 1982, 1:100,000.