Have You Ever Experienced This Northern Colorado “Ghost Town”?

A recent article by the Denver City Page had them talking about the top ghost towns in Colorado, and the first town in the article is the "hidden" town of Dearfield. Dearfield is situated in the Eastern Plains just east of Greeley, and was the first all-black settlement in the state.

Have you ever been to the ghost town of Dearfield before? History says that it was a prosperous town until about 1940 when the town population dwindled to only 12 people in the area, which was only 2% of the towns population in 1921. The reasoning for the decline in population was that residents wanted to look for better opportunities throughout not only the state but the country. Opportunities that Dearfield wasn't going to give them.

Above is the home of O.T. Jackson in Dearfield, and it still stands to this day. Jackson was the man who formed the town back in 1910. When things started to get disastrous for the town, he tried selling it just to generate an interest. However, his plans weren't finalized as he ended up passing away in 1948.

In 2015, there are still three buildings that stand in the town of Dearfield. A gas station, a diner, and O.T. Jackson's home are all that remain of what was once going to be a prosperous town in the Plains.

While the town will never come back to the glory days it had in years past, local organizations are making efforts to at least preserve the site.

Want to take a trip back in time to see what remains of Dearfield? To get there, take CO 34 east of Greeley about 25 miles and watch for the sign.