Dearfield, Colorado

All That Remains. Dearfield, Colorado, 2016

What does remain of Dearfield, located maybe 30 minutes east of Greeley on Highway 34, is not much. With time, volunteer efforts, and money, perhaps the Black American West Museum can salvage and restore something of this interesting historical site.

This was an African-American farming settlement that was, unfortunately, established out on the lonely plains barely 20 years before the stinging effects of the Dust Bowl began to sweep the region. At one point, somewhere around 700 settlers resided there and one could find platted streets, a dance pavilion, two churches, a school, and a restaurant. There were even “plans to build a canning factory and college”.

With very little rainfall, dry summer heat waves, and the raging winds, huge curtains of smothering dust began to hang high into the sky in the 1930s and it only took a few years for the project to collapse. By 1940, the population had dropped to 12, and by 1946, one solitary soul remained.

Here is what the relatively new and authoritative-looking monument on site says:

Dearfield Monument. Dearfield, Colorado, 2016

Today, there are a couple of buildings that look like they date from the time of the original founding, and another set that look significantly newer. All are in danger of collapse. The signs shout out a warning (one you should heed!):

Dearfield, #3. Dearfield, Colorado, 2016

Some of the “newer” buildings:

Dearfield, #2. Dearfield, Colorado, 2016

Dearfield, #4. Dearfield, Colorado, 2016

Here are two images of the older buildings. Was this the general store or the restaurant–or both? These structures are mostly surrounded by a locked metal fence, but it is possible to stick the camera lens through a gap by the gate. Note the cables keeping the front facade from collapsing into the prairie grass: