[MUSIC] - IMAGINE A HUNDRED YEARS AGO COMING FROM DOWNTOWN DENVER, TRYING TO MAKE A GO OF IT, AND REALIZING ANYONE CAN DO ANYTHING THEY WANT IF THEY WORK HARD ENOUGH AND TRY TO PERSEVERE.

- MANY PEOPLE WANTED TO MOVE TO DEARFIELD BECAUSE TO OWN YOUR OWN LAND AND TO BE ABLE TO FARM IT AND MAKE MONEY, THAT WAS AN IDEAL SITUATION.

- THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR FAMILIES TO SET THEIR OWN COURSE, TO CREATE THEIR OWN LIVES, TO ESTABLISH A NEW WAY OF LIVING FOR YOUR CHILDREN, CARVE OUT THE DIRECTION THAT OUR LIVES WERE TAKING.

- FOR A LONG TIME, DEARFIELD WAS REALLY KIND OF THE CENTER OF AFRICAN AMERICAN LIFE.

AND WE'RE JUST NOW BEGINNING TO FIND OUT JUST HOW IMPORTANT THAT STORY IS.

WE'RE ABLE TO PULL TOGETHER MORE HISTORY OF DEARFIELD TODAY THAN WE WOULD HAVE 10 OR 20 YEARS AGO BECAUSE ALL THE BITS AND PIECES THAT WE'RE FINDING OF IT.

[MUSIC] - IT'S AN HONOR FOR ME TO BE IN DEARFIELD, TO WALK AMONG THE ANCESTORS THAT WERE HERE DURING A TIME WHERE EVERYTHING POSSIBLE WAS BEING DONE TO KEEP THEM FROM DOING ANYTHING.

I THINK ABOUT MY GREAT GREAT GRANDPARENTS, FRANK AND ANNA MCPHERSON, AND THE WORK THEY DID TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR FAMILY.

AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO IMPROVE THEIR LIVES AND TO CONTRIBUTE, IT WAS A TOUGH, TOUGH ROAD AHEAD OF THEM.

MY GREAT GREAT GRANDPARENTS, FRANK AND ANNA MCPHERSON, LEARNED ABOUT DEARFIELD IN 1910 BECAUSE THERE WERE A LOT OF FAMILIES IN THE COMMUNITY, AND OUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER, "THE COLORADO STATESMAN", MADE SURE THAT PEOPLE WERE AWARE OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING AND THE POSSIBILITIES AND THE PROSPECT OF LAND.

SO, MY GREAT GREAT GRANDPARENTS CONTINUED TO SAVE A LOT OF MONEY, AS MUCH MONEY AS THEY POSSIBLY COULD, AND THEY PURCHASED LAND IN DEARFIELD IN 1918.

- DEARFIELD WAS A VERY IMPORTANT AFRICAN AMERICAN FARMING COMMUNITY.

TO OWN YOUR OWN LAND AND TO BE ABLE TO FARM IT AND MAKE MONEY, THAT WAS AN IDEAL SITUATION.

- DEARFIELD WAS A TOWN SITE THAT WAS FOUNDED IN 1910.

THE IDEA BEING WE CAN OWN OUR OWN LAND, WE CAN MAKE A COMMUNITY FOR BLACK AMERICANS TO BE ABLE TO LIVE AND PROSPER.

- MANY OF THE SMALLER TOWNS AROUND-- ALL OVER COLORADO, OUT HERE IN THE WEST, THEY WERE CALLED SUNDOWN TOWNS.

IF YOU WERE BLACK, YOU BETTER HAVE YOUR BUTT OUT OF TOWN BY SUNDOWN, OR ELSE.

AND THAT'S THE WAY THINGS WERE.

MANY PEOPLE WANTED TO MOVE TO DEARFIELD BECAUSE BLACK PEOPLE COULD HAVE THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES AND NOT WORRY ABOUT THAT.

MEANWHILE IN DENVER, YOU HAVE THE KU KLUX KLAN.

BUT OUT IN DEARFIELD, THINGS WERE DIFFERENT.

- THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR FAMILIES TO SET THEIR OWN COURSE, TO BUILD YOUR HOME, AND ESTABLISH A NEW WAY OF LIVING FOR YOUR CHILDREN AND WORKING TOWARD MAKING THIS AN AMAZING LIFE.

- WHAT YOU SEE OVER HERE IS THE FILLING STATION, WAS THE GROCERY STORE.

THIS IS WHAT THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING LOOKED LIKE BACK IN ABOUT 1919, 1920.

ALL THE BUILDINGS IN THIS PART OF THE SITE WERE BUILT AS COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS.

THIS WAS THE FILLING STATION, AND WE KNOW THAT THIS WAS AN ORIGINAL BUILDING BECAUSE OT JACKSON'S NAME IS STAMPED AT SOME OF THE SUPPORTS, AND IT SAYS TO O.T.

JACKSON AT MASTERS.

MR. O.T.

JACKSON, OLIVER TOUSSAINT JACKSON FOUNDED DEARFIELD.

- O.T.

JACKSON CAME TO THIS PART OF WELD COUNTY BECAUSE IT WAS PROBABLY ABOUT THE ONLY PLACE IN COLORADO WHERE GOVERNMENT LAND WAS AVAILABLE FOR HOMESTEADING.

AND HE NOT ONLY ADVERTISED DEARFIELD IN THE TEENS, IN 1914 THROUGH 1920, AS A PLACE TO COME AND HAVE YOUR OWN LAND AND HAVE YOUR OWN FARMS, BUT ALSO A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE COULD COME ENJOY THEIR LIVES WITH OTHERS OF THEIR COMMUNITY.

- YOU HAVE IN THIS SITUATION A GENTLEMAN IN O.T.

JACKSON WHO HAD A BUSINESS EXPERIENCE AND SAID, "I CAN DO THIS.

I CAN MAKE A TOWN."

- SOME OF THE MONEY THAT HE HAD PROBABLY CAME FROM THE FACT THAT HE WAS RUNNING THE CHAUTAUQUA HOTEL IN BOULDER, AND THAT BUILDING IS STILL THERE TODAY.

- HE WORKED UP IN BOULDER, COLORADO.

I THINK HE PINCHED A LOT OF PENNIES.

AND EVERYTHING THAT HE DID, HE JUST SCRAPED AND SAVED MONEY, BUT HE WORKED VERY, VERY HARD AND DIFFERENT JOBS TO MAKE MONEY AND TO HELP PULL THIS VISION TOGETHER.

- O.T.

JACKSON WAS AN AMAZING BUSINESSMAN.

HE WAS, AS DR. JUNNE WOULD SAY, HE WAS A HUSTLER.

HE WORKED HARD, AND HE HAD A LOT OF CONNECTIONS IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY DOWN IN DENVER AND IN THE DENVER AREA.

AND SO, HE WAS PROMOTING TO FOLKS TO COME UP AND GET A LOT, GET SOME LAND IN DEARFIELD, AND MANY PEOPLE DID DO THAT.

- I HAVE ONE HERE I LIKE TO SHOW.

A LOT OF ORIGINAL DOCUMENTATION HAS EMERGED.

SOME OF THEM ARE LETTERS, SOME OF THEM ARE OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS, AND SO WE HAVE AFFIDAVITS, FOR INSTANCE, OF PEOPLE THAT ARE PROVING UP THEIR HOMESTEAD CLAIM.

AND SO, WE HAVE THOSE ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF DEARFIELD.

- ONE THING ABOUT THE RECORDS WAS THAT SOMEONE DONATED FIVE LEDGER BOOKS OF O.T.

JACKSON'S EXPENSES TO THE GREELEY HISTORY MUSEUM.

- THESE LEDGERS DATE BACK TO PROBABLY AROUND THE 1880S AND CONTAIN DOCUMENTATION ABOUT DEARFIELD.

SO, HE USED THE SAME LEDGERS OVER AND OVER, OVER DECADES.

THIS ONE IN PARTICULAR CONTAINS INFORMATION FROM AROUND 1910 UP INTO THE 1920S.

DR. CHRIS BOWLES.

I AM THE MUSEUM'S MANAGER FOR CITY OF GREELEY MUSEUMS.

AND WITHIN THESE BOOKS, WE HAVE NOT JUST FINANCIAL RECORDS, WE HAVE NAMES, ADDRESSES, IN SOME CASES, EVEN TELEPHONE NUMBERS OF INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE ASSOCIATED WITH DEARFIELD WHO O.T.

JACKSON AND HIS WIFE MINERVA KNEW PERSONALLY.

- NOW, PEOPLE WHO HAD STARTED TO LIVE THERE, SOME OF THEM DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO PUT DOWN FOR THEIR HOMESTEAD, SO O.T.

JACKSON LOANED THEM THE MONEY, AND THEN LATER ON, THEY WOULD PAY IT BACK, SOMETIMES ALL AT ONCE, SOMETIMES IN INCREMENTS AND SO FORTH, BUT THEY WERE ABLE TO PAY IT BACK.

AND THAT WAS HIS OWN MONEY.

IT WAS MONEY OUT OF HIS OWN POCKET THAT HE WAS DOING THAT.

- YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE DETAILS, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE MANY DOCUMENTS COUNTRYWIDE THAT DETAIL A BLACK COMMUNITY, A BLACK COLONY OF THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY, IN SUCH DETAIL AS THESE.

YOU KNOW, HE'S PROVING THAT HE'S MAKING THIS HAPPEN, YOU KNOW, IN 1921, 1919, 1918.

- MR. JACKSON DIDN'T SIT BACK AND WAIT FOR THINGS TO HAPPEN.

HE WAS A CHANGE AGENT.

HE WANTED TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN.

HE ALWAYS WORKED AT CHANGING HIS CIRCUMSTANCES IN HIS OWN LIFE SO THAT HIS LIFE WOULD BE BETTER.

- UNTIL 1914, THERE WASN'T A BUILDING ON THE DEARFIELD TOWN SITE.

THAT WAS THE YEAR IT WAS PLATTED, AND THAT WAS THE YEAR HE ACQUIRED THE LAND.

AS PEOPLE BEGAN TO SETTLE IN THE IMMEDIATE AREA AND BEGAN TO HOMESTEAD LAND, THEN IT HAD JUST EXPANDED OUTWARD.

THIS IS WHAT'S CALLED A RETRACEMENT SURVEY, WHICH MEANS THAT THE 1914 SURVEY THAT DIVIDED UP THE TOWN SITE HAS BEEN KIND OF SURVEYED OUT.

THIS IS WHERE MOST OF THE HOUSES WERE LOCATED, AND THE COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS IN THE CENTER OF TOWN.

THE FILLING STATION IS LOCATED ON THE NORTHERN PART OF THE SITE ALONG THE HIGHWAY, AND THEN THE MAIN STREET, WASHINGTON AVENUE, NAMED AFTER BOOKER T. WASHINGTON, CUTS THROUGH THE CENTER OF THE SITE.

WHEN HOMESTEADING WAS FINALLY COMPLETED, AND I THINK 1926 WAS THE LAST HOMESTEAD, IT COVERED APPROXIMATELY FIVE SQUARE MILES, WHICH IS A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL AREA.

DEARFIELD WAS A FULLY FUNCTIONING TOWN.

IT HAD A FILLING STATION, A LUNCH ROOM, IT HAD AT ONE TIME TWO DIFFERENT CHURCHES, A GRANARY, A GENERAL STORE, AND HOMES FOR PEOPLE TO LIVE IN.

- SO, THIS IS THE LUNCH ROOM.

AND PREVIOUSLY, THE HIGHWAY RAN RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF US SO PEOPLE COULD STOP IN AND GET THEIR MEALS.

SO INSIDE, WHEN I FIRST CAME OUT HERE, YOU COULD GO INSIDE THE BUILDING.

THERE WAS A BIG COUNTER, THERE WERE SEATS, AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT.

SO, YOU COULD GET A VERY, VERY GOOD MEAL.

SO, IT WAS VERY, VERY PRODUCTIVE TO HAVE THIS OUT HERE.

[MUSIC] - AT THE LUNCH ROOM, WE FOUND A SHARD OF PLATE, AND IT HAS A STAMP ON IT INDICATING IT WAS A PLATE THAT WAS MADE IN ENGLAND.

SO, YOU COULD GO IN AND GET YOURSELF A WONDERFUL MEAL AT A DINER AT THE LUNCH ROOM, AND YOU'RE EATING ON FINE CHINA FROM ENGLAND.

- HOW DID DISHES FROM ENGLAND GET OUT TO DEARFIELD?

WE'RE LOOKING THROUGH THE SEARS ROEBUCK CATALOG, AND THERE WERE THE DISHES THAT THEY HAD FROM ENGLAND AND OTHER PLACES.

SO, YOU COULD BE SOMEONE WHO DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF MONEY, MIDDLE CLASS, MAYBE LOWER MIDDLE CLASS, BUT YOU HAD DISHES FROM ENGLAND ON YOUR TABLE.

- WHAT IS THIS?

I HAVE NO IDEA.

PROBABLY A PATCH.

WE'VE BEEN EXCAVATING OFF AND ON AT DEARFIELD SINCE 2012, AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO FIND IS HOW DEEP IS THE ARCHAEOLOGY, THE MATERIAL CULTURE, AND IT'S NOT VERY DEEP.

IT TURNS OUT THAT IN MOST PLACES, THE HISTORIC ARTIFACTS ARE EMBEDDED ABOUT TWO FEET BELOW THE SURFACE AT THE MOST.

THAT'S ALL THE DIRT.

THERES A PIECE OF GLASS.

GLASS AND NAILS.

[LAUGHS] LOTS OF GLASS AND NAILS.

SO, I'LL BAG THIS FOR NOW, AND THEN THOSE WILL BE ALL THE ARTIFACTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT LEVEL.

- THOSE ARTIFACTS, AS THEY ARE RECOVERED FROM THE SURFACE DOWN, TELL US A LOT ABOUT HOW THIS SITE DEVELOPED, HOW THIS PARTICULAR LOCATION CHANGED OVER TIME, AND IT TELLS SOMETHING ABOUT THE BUILDING THAT WAS HERE.

AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO.

WE'RE TRYING TO RECONSTRUCT THINGS IN THE PAST FROM BITS AND PIECES.

- THERE YOU GO.

AND THEN, IT'S BACK TO DIGGING.

[LAUGHS] [MUSIC] - SO, WE MAP THE UNIT TO SHOW WHERE EVERYTHING THAT'S COMING UP IS GOING TO BE AT.

SO, I HAVE MULTIPLE PIECES OF WOOD.

I'VE GOT FIVE NAILS THAT I'M GOING TO MAP ALL OF THOSE BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL COMING UP AT THE SAME LEVEL.

SO, I USE THE MEASUREMENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT I CAN MAP IT CORRECTLY, AND THEN I POINT PLOTS ON HERE, AND THEN I CAN DRAW IN THE ITEMS.

- WE'RE RECOVERING A LOT OF ARTIFACTS FROM THE PERIOD THAT TELL US A LOT ABOUT PEOPLE'S LIVES.

THESE ARE THINGS YOU WON'T FIND IN THE OLD HISTORIC NEWSPAPERS, OR IN DOCUMENTS, OR EVEN IN ORAL HISTORIES OF PEOPLE.

- IT'S AMAZING TO ME TO HEAR ABOUT SOME OF THE ARTIFACTS BECAUSE DEARFIELD HAD SO MANY FAMILIES THAT LIVED UP THERE THAT TRIED TO CREATE WONDERFUL SPACES AND ENVIRONMENTS FOR THEIR FAMILIES.

WE'RE STANDING IN FRONT OF THE DEARFIELD EXHIBIT ON THE SECOND FLOOR AT THE BLACK AMERICAN WEST MUSEUM AND HERITAGE CENTER, AND IT CELEBRATES O.T.

JACKSON, OLIVER TOUSSAINT JACKSON, AND THE WORK THAT HE DID TO MAKE SURE THAT DEARFIELD CAME TO FRUITION.

SO, WE'VE GOT ARTIFACTS THAT WERE COLLECTED FROM FAMILY MEMBERS IN OUR COLLECTION.

- WE'RE ABLE TO PULL TOGETHER MORE HISTORY OF DEARFIELD TODAY THAN WE WOULD HAVE 10 OR 20 YEARS AGO BECAUSE ALL THE BITS AND PIECES THAT WE'RE FINDING OF IT.

- OKAY, SOME PLACE ALONG HERE ON THE LEFT, YOU'LL SEE A LITTLE PATH.

YEAH, THIS IS IT.

SO, THIS IS SQUIRE BROCKMAN'S HOUSE.

AT LEAST IT WAS HIS HOUSE.

AND THIS WAS THE HOUSE OF THE TIME BECAUSE WHEN HE CAME OUT HERE, HE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST SETTLERS OUT HERE, BUT HE WAS ALSO THE BLACKSMITH, AND THEN HE BECAME THE AUTO MECHANIC.

SO, SCATTERED AROUND IN THE BACK OF THE HOUSE, YOU SEE PIECES OF AUTOMOBILES THAT ARE OUT THERE AS WELL.

SO, EVEN THE LITTLE THINGS PUT TOGETHER THE BIG PUZZLE OF HOW PEOPLE LIVED, AND WHAT THEY DID, AND SO FORTH.

- YOU'RE GOING TO FIND EVIDENCE OF PEOPLE'S LIVES THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY FOUND IN ANY OTHER SOURCE.

AND THEN, YOU TIE ALL THIS TOGETHER, AND YOU BEGIN TO HAVE AN EXPANDING UNDERSTANDING OF PAST LIVES.

AND IT'S ALL STORYTELLING.

- LOOKING AROUND HERE, WHEN YOU SEE CACTUS, AND THISTLES, AND ALL OF THAT, IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE THAT THIS WAS A SUCCESSFUL FARMING COMMUNITY, AND THERE WAS ENOUGH RAINFALL THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IRRIGATION OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

- NO ONE KNEW AT THAT TIME ABOUT THE CHANGES IN THE RAINFALL.

SO, THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO PREDICT IT.

THEY DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE CLIMATE CHANGES AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME.

- DEARFIELD LASTED THROUGH THE 1920S, LATE 1920S, AND THEN LIKE SO MANY OTHER PLACES, THE FARM LIFE WAS NOT COMPLETELY CRUSHED, BUT PRETTY MUCH CRUSHED BY WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH CLIMATE CHANGE AND WITH THE DEPRESSION.

- ONCE AGAIN, THE RAINS HELD OFF AND THE SUN BAKED THE EARTH.

THE SUN AND WINDS WROTE THE MOST TRAGIC CHAPTER IN AMERICAN AGRICULTURE.

- THE DUST BOWL RUINED EVERYTHING.

AND THEN, WHEN IT HIT, IT WAS TOO LATE, AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE LOST THEIR FARMS.

[MUSIC] - AND THE MAIN THING WAS THAT IT HAD JUST DRIED UP.

IT JUST WASN'T THE KIND OF RAINFALL TO BE ABLE TO EASILY SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE CROPS AND THINGS THAT THEY NEEDED TO HAVE BEFORE.

- IT WAS NO LONGER A VIABLE AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY, AND SO PEOPLE STARTED TO MOVE OUT.

AND BY 1940, THE LAST RESIDENTS WERE IN DEARFIELD.

- IN THE TOWN SIDE OF DEARFIELD, O.T.

JACKSON AND HIS WIFE MINERVA CONTINUED TO LIVE THERE FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.

MINERVA DIED IN 1942.

O.T.

JACKSON DIED IN 1948.

- THIS IS THE HOME OF O.T.

JACKSON.

- IT WAS BUILT INITIALLY AS THE DEARFIELD LODGE.

AND ACTUALLY, O.T.

JACKSON AND H WIFE MINERVA DIDN'T LIVE IN IT UNTIL PROBABLY THE LATE 1920S, EARLY 1930S.

- SO, THIS WAS THE HOUSE THAT HE LIVED IN.

AND WE CAN GO INSIDE AND WE'LL SHOW YOU.

- WHEN THE JACKSON FAMILY FIRST MOVED INTO DEARFIELD AND TOOK OVER THIS BUILDING, THEY FIGURED IT'S TOO SMALL FOR US AND IT DIDN'T HAVE AN INDOOR BATHROOM.

AND SO, THERE WERE-- ONCE DEARFIELD WAS BEING ABANDONED, THERE WERE A LOT OF SMALL HOUSES THAT WERE JUST KIND OF SITTING AROUND ALL OVER THE PLACE THAT WERE UNUSED.

AND O.T.

JACKSON WENT AND HAD A MOVING CREW JACK UP ONE OF THE HOUSES, AND BRING IT OVER HERE, AND PUT IT ON THE BACK OF THE LODGE SO THAT HE CAN ENLARGE THE HOUSE FOR THEIR USE.

AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE HAVE HERE.

[MUSIC] - WHEN PEOPLE LEFT DEARFIELD, THEY LEFT THEIR BUILDINGS.

MANY OF THE BUILDINGS DIDN'T HAVE FOUNDATIONS.

THEY WERE BUILT PRETTY MUCH ON THE GROUND.

SO, SOME OF THE HOUSES WERE SOLD AND SOME JUST FELL DOWN.

- THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PLACES WHERE THERE'S NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE OF HOUSES THAT WERE ONCE THERE OR BUILDINGS THAT WERE ONCE THERE.

[MUSIC] - WHEN YOU GO OUT TO DEARFIELD AND YOU LOOK, YOU SEE A COUPLE OF BUILDINGS, YOU SEE SOME RUINS, AND YOU SEE A LOT OF EMPTY LAND.

SO, AFTER I HAD LEARNED ABOUT DEARFIELD AND WAS SO EXCITED ABOUT IT, I ALWAYS FELT THAT SOMEBODY OUGHT TO DO SOMETHING.

- HE USED TO DRIVE BY DEARFIELD AND HE USED TO SAY, "YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT.” EVERY TIME HE WENT BY, HE'D SAY, "SOMEBODY SHOULD DO SOMETHING" AND THEN, HE BECAME COUNTY COMMISSIONER AND HE WAS ABLE TO DO THAT TO HELP OUT BECAUSE HE KNEW THAT IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT HISTORICALLY.

- AND SO, THE DEARFIELD PRESERVATION COMMITTEE STARTED UP AROUND 2008.

WE LEARNED ABOUT THE BLACK AMERICAN WEST MUSEUM AND THEIR OWNERSHIP OF MANY OF THE PARCELS THERE.

WE MADE A LIST OF OTHERS THAT WOULD BE INTERESTED AND STARTED TO BRING TOGETHER SOME OF THESE PARTNERS.

AND WE HAD A MEETING HERE AT THE GREELEY MUSEUM, OUR FIRST MEETING IN 2008, TO TALK ABOUT WHAT CAN BE DONE.

WHAT WOULD THOSE STEPS LOOK LIKE?

AND THAT'S WHEN WE REALLY GOT STARTED.

- OUR FIRST FOCUS OF THE COMMITTEE WAS TO TRY TO SAVE WHAT WAS LEFT AT THE DEARFIELD TOWN SITE.

OVER THE YEARS, WE WERE ABLE TO KEEP THE TWO BUILDINGS THAT WERE STILL INTACT AFTER OVER 100 YEARS.

WE KEPT THEM STANDING.

ONCE WE HAD PROTECTED AS MUCH OF THE SITE AS WE POSSIBLY COULD, THE IDEA CAME THAT MAYBE WE CAN PRESERVE THIS SITE BY MAKING IT PART OF A LARGER ENTITY.

WE GOT THE BILL PASSED IN 2022 TO BE ABLE TO DO A STUDY THROUGH THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE WITH THE INTENT OF HOPEFULLY MAKING DEARFIELD PART OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, WHICH WOULD BE ONE WAY TO BE ABLE TO PROTECT IT.

- WE HAVE ABOUT A HALF MILLION DOLLARS THAT'S COMING RIGHT NOW.

AND IF IT BECOMES A NATIONAL HISTORIC MONUMENT, THAT COULD BRING IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO HELP NOT ONLY TO PRESERVE THE SITE, BUT ALSO HAVE A VISITOR CENTER OUT THERE, HAVE LOTS OF OTHER THINGS TO GO ALONG WITH IT TO KEEP DEARFIELD IN PEOPLE'S MINDS.

- AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN, WE HOPE, SOMEDAY IS THAT WE ACQUIRE ENOUGH FUNDS TO BE ABLE TO CONVERT THESE BUILDINGS INTO HISTORIC SITE PROPERTIES.

AND WHAT YOU SEE HERE ARE ARCHITECTURAL PLANS FOR NOT ONLY PRESERVING AND RESTORING THE BUILDINGS, BUT ALSO TURNING THEM INTO THE VISITOR CENTER AT THE FILLING STATION AND THE JACKSON HOUSE INTO A HOUSE MUSEUM WHERE VISITORS WILL BE ABLE TO WALK THROUGH THE DIFFERENT ROOMS.

THEY WILL BE ABLE TO GO IN THROUGH THE ENTRANCE.

AND THEN, THIS IS THE PATH WHERE THEY'LL COME THROUGH INTO A BEDROOM, AND THEN INTO THE DINING ROOM, AND THEN INTO A FRONT OFFICE SPACE THAT O.T.

JACKSON USED, AND WILL BE ABLE TO KIND OF EXPERIENCE THE DEARFIELD PAST AS IT'S BEEN RESTORED.

- SO, THERE'S A LOT OF STEPS AND THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS INVOLVED, AND WE'RE AT THE BEGINNING STAGES OF IT.

SO, THERE'S A LONG ROAD AHEAD OF US TO SEE WHERE WE CAN TAKE THIS, BUT WE WANT TO DO EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T LOSE THAT SITE.

I IMAGINE THAT FOLKS ARE DRIVING BY, THEY SEE THE NAME DEARFIELD, AND THEY'RE NOT AWARE OF THE HISTORY IN A LOT OF THOSE LITTLE SPACES THAT THEY DRIVE PAST.

AND NOT A LOT OF FOLKS WOULD IMAGINE THAT WE HAVE A BLACK COMMUNITY HERE SO FAR AWAY FROM EVERYTHING.

[MUSIC] THERE'S NOTHING SIMPLE AND EASY ABOUT FARMING.

THAT'S ONE OF THE HARDEST WAYS TO MAKE A LIVING AND TO LIVE YOUR LIFE.

BUT THE REWARDS ARE PRETTY POWERFUL WHEN YOU HAVE A CROP THAT COMES IN AND THERE'S SO MUCH THAT YOU CAN SHOW FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'VE INVESTED.

AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK FILLED UP THE SPIRIT OF MY ANCESTORS.

AND THEY WERE FAMILIAR WITH FARMING.

MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER'S MOTHER, HARRIET BAILEY, WAS BORN ENSLAVED IN ALABAMA.

AND SO, FARMING WAS PART OF THEIR EXPERIENCE.

SO, I THINK IT WAS INCREDIBLE FOR MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS TO SHARE WITH MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER AN EXPERIENCE OF OWNING THE LAND THAT THEY'RE CULTIVATING, AS OPPOSED TO FORCED LABOR, AS OPPOSED TO WHAT SHE HAD TO EXPERIENCE IN THE YOUNGER TIMES OF HER LIFE.

- THESE PEOPLE WERE DOING SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY, AND THEIR MOTIVATIONS FOR DOING IT ARE TREMENDOUSLY LAUDATORY.

I MEAN, THEY WERE THINKING OF NOT ONLY THEMSELVES, BUT THEY WERE THINKING OF FUTURE GENERATIONS.

AND THE FACT THAT THEY HAD TO WORK SO HARD AND DO SO MUCH TO TRY TO CREATE THAT FUTURE IS REAL COMMENTARY ON OUR HISTORY AND A LOT OF THE DIVISIONS THAT WE HAVE EVEN TODAY.

- LOOKING AT EVERYTHING THAT THEY DID, THEY NEVER STOPPED WORKING AND THEY NEVER GAVE UP ON MAKING SURE THAT THEIR CHILDREN HAD BETTER OPTIONS AND BETTER CHOICES.

THEY COME FROM INCREDIBLY RICH HISTORY.

AS PAINFUL AND AS HORRIFIC AS SLAVERY IS, GO BEYOND THAT AND LOOK AT THE PERSON WHO WAS ENSLAVED AND SEE WHO THEY ARE.

AND I AM SO HONORED TO BE A DESCENDANT.

WHEN YOU COME INTO THIS SITE AND START WALKING DOWN THIS ROAD, IT'S A PLACE TO DISCOVER THAT FOLKS WERE OUT HERE IN THIS AREA TRYING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THEIR OWN LIVES.

SO, I JUST LOVE HONORING MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS AND THE WORK THEY INVESTED FOR THEMSELVES AND FOR THEIR DESCENDANTS, AND HAVE PASSED AN INCREDIBLE LEGACY TO NEVER FALL SHORT OF YOUR DREAMS TO LIVE YOUR LIFE THE BEST YOU CAN LIVE IT AND DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO MAKE EACH DAY A BLESSING.

SO, THAT'S WHAT THEY GAVE US.