Restored ghost town celebrates 99th anniversary

Employees and visitors celebrated the 99th anniversary of Dearfield, a ghost town located 25 miles east of Greeley. The town was eventually ravished by the Dust Bowl in the 1930s when crops could not grow enough to support the population; thus, it was deserted.

The town began with O.T. Jackson, a man who dreamed of a colony for black people during a time when prejudice was prevalent. He thought the best way to elevate people from their financial issues was to own land on which they might become prosperous through horticulture.

According to The Black American West Museum's Web site, the museum and the Colorado Historical Society own some of the land, and work is slowly being done to preserve and restore the town as a resolute symbol of the spirits of American black people.

The event started with a round of gratitude for the employees who helped organize the event and those who have been working to restore Dearfield and preserve it for future generations. A tour of the few buildings was led by George Junne Jr, an Africana studies professor at UNC.

Junne said he observed the town was not atypical in that it was a community of a single, distinct ethnicity or religion because other groups had been building their own separate dwellings. But it was unique because it was a black community.

"The town received it's peculiar title because one of the doctors who named it said this will be dear to us –- thus the spelling d-e-a-r," Junne said.

La Wanna Larson, the executive director of the Black American West Museum, said she was pleased with the turnout of the event. 

"We've had about 200 people come through," Larson said. "We thought we would get maybe 50."

George Osbourne Jr., the grandson of one of the men who lived in Dearfield when it was a functioning town, said it gave him a sympathetic feeling to see the town commemorated.

Osbourne also said his grandfather worked as a carpenter and resided in Dearfield for two years before moving to Greeley. His grandfather is pictured in some historical photographs.