DENVER (KDVR) — The National Park Service is asking the public for input regarding a historic Colorado site that could become a new part of the National Park System.
The Dearfield Settlement, which is about 25 miles east of Greeley in Weld County, was established in 1910 and was the largest African American homesteading settlement in Colorado, according to NPS.
It was once a thriving community, but today only a few buildings remain and it is considered a ghost town.
How many ghost towns are there in Colorado? More than live towns
Dearfield was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. Now, NPS is conducting a special resource study to see whether the site meets the criteria and is eligible for inclusion in the National Park System.
What is the Dearfield Settlement?
Entrepreneur Oliver Toussaint Jackson established Dearfield in May of 1910 as part of the national African-American colonization movement inspired by Booker T. Washington. It opened up opportunity for Black americans to have thier own farm and home, and people started settling there in 1911.