U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, R-Windsor, and Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Boulder, have requested a National Park Service survey to determine the historical significance of Dearfield Homestead in Weld County.

The survey would specifically determine whether the location warrants a National Historic Site designation. Dearfield Homestead is presently listed as a National Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places, but a joint letter from Buck and Neguse indicates the heightened designation could enhance protection and funding for preservation of the site.

"The agricultural settlement reached its peak in the late 1910s and early 1920s with multiple churches, a hotel, restaurants, and numerous businesses," the letter reads.

Founded in 1910 about 70 miles north of Denver, Dearfield Homestead was considered the largest Black homesteading settlement in Colorado.

The settlement founder, O.T. Jackson, was inspired by Booker T. Washington to establish the colony, the letter reads, "with the belief that land ownership was the best path to prosperity for Black Americans."

As many as 700 residents from 35 states located in the agricultural community before the Dust Bowl and collapsing crop prices forced many to relocate to the Denver area, the letter reads. A gas station, diner and O.T. Jackson's home still remain standing at the site.

"The University of Northern Colorado and the Black American West Museum have been working collaboratively to manage the site and coordinate preservation and restoration work," the letter continued. "For these reasons, we believe the Dearfield site in Weld County demonstrates clear historic value necessitating the completion of the requested reconnaissance study."

UNC received nearly $500,000 from the NPS African American Civil Rights Grant Program in 2021 to help fund efforts at the site.

The precedent for the request, Buck noted, is Nicodemus, a location in Kansas, being designated a National Historic Site in 1996.