Why Preservation Matters Here
The Hicks Homestead represents something increasingly rare: a place where African American history is not simply documented, but physically present. The house that Crawford Hicks built with his own hands in 1910. The reservoir his family dug. The remnants of fencing that once enclosed 240 acres of self-sufficient Black farming. These are not artifacts in a museum — they are still here, on the Colorado plains, where they have always been.
Historic preservation is not just about buildings. It is about stories — and the Hicks Homestead holds stories that are largely unknown to the general public. Most people who know anything about Dearfield know only the townsite: the Dearfield Filling Station and the Lodge/Jackson House. Far fewer know about the families like the Hicks who farmed the surrounding homesteads and made the whole Colony possible. As Tony Potts, Hicks family descendant, put it:
"There were people on the perimeter of the Dearfield town site that supported the Dearfield Colony and made it successful. Those are the people who have been forgotten."
— Tony Potts, Hicks family descendant, November 15, 2024
The Hicks Homestead is the physical embodiment of that forgotten story. Preserving it — and making it accessible to the public — is an act of historical justice as much as it is architectural stewardship.
Colorado State Register of Historic Properties
Hicks Homestead House — Listed Property
The Hicks Homestead House is officially listed on the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties. This designation recognizes the property's exceptional significance to Colorado's African American history, to the history of westward migration and homesteading, and to the broader national narrative of post-emancipation Black life in the American West. The Colorado State Register is administered by History Colorado, the state's official history organization.
The State Register listing provides recognition and some level of protection, but true preservation of the Hicks Homestead House — which is currently in poor condition and vacant — will require sustained attention, resources, and community commitment. The Hicks family has held this land for over 114 years. Their commitment to preserving it is evident; what is needed now is broader institutional and community support.
The Archaeological Record
A 2024 archaeological survey of the Hicks Homestead recorded 17 distinct historic features across the 160-acre property, including structural foundations, the Hicks Reservoir (still extant), remnants of fencing, agricultural infrastructure sites, and the remains of the boulevard of trees that once marked the homestead's approach.
The site retains a rich archaeological assemblage of domestic and agricultural artifacts — materials that can provide irreplaceable information about the material culture of African Americans on the western frontier in the early 20th century. These artifacts speak to:
Domestic Life
How the Hicks family furnished and maintained their home — the goods they brought from Denver and what they chose to keep.
Agricultural Practice
The economic complexity of running a successful African American farm in the early 20th-century American West.
Community Networks
The relationships between the Hicks family, other Dearfield settlers, and the surrounding white farming community.
Identity & Prosperity
How an African American family formed and expressed its identity through material culture in this specific historical context.
Heritage Tourism: The Dearfield Corridor
The Hicks Homestead sits within a broader landscape of African American heritage in northeastern Colorado that is increasingly drawing scholarly attention and public interest. The Dearfield Colony site — including the Dearfield Filling Station and Lodge/Jackson House in the townsite — is approximately three miles west of the Hicks Homestead. Together, these sites form a powerful corridor of Black history on the Colorado plains.
The Hicks family cares deeply about historic preservation and sees the potential for the homestead to become an educational destination. Like Nicodemus, Kansas — the oldest continuously operating African American homesteading community west of the Mississippi, now a National Park Service site — the Hicks Homestead has the historical depth, physical presence, and family stewardship to become a meaningful heritage destination.
The Dearfield Townsite
Approximately three miles west of the Hicks Homestead, the Dearfield townsite includes the 1917 Filling Station and Lodge/Jackson House — the remaining visible structures of the colony's commercial center.
Hicks Homestead House
The only surviving homestead family home from the Dearfield Colony era. Built c. 1910, listed on the Colorado State Register. Three miles east of the Dearfield townsite, near Wiggins, Colorado.
Hicks Reservoir / Pond
The historic water source that gave the Hicks family their crucial advantage — allowing them to survive drought conditions that drove most Dearfield families away. Still extant on the property.
The Homestead Landscape
Remnant fence lines, tree boulevards, and agricultural features recorded in the 2024 survey. The property continues to be used for hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation.
📍 Location & Access
Near Wiggins, Weld County, Colorado
Approximately 3 miles east of the Dearfield townsite
In the vicinity of the former Masters townsite (now Highway 34 & Road 87 intersection)
The Hicks Homestead is private family property. The Hicks family is committed to sharing this history and is developing plans for appropriate public access and educational programming. Please check back for updates on formal visitation opportunities.
How to Support Preservation
Preserving the Hicks Homestead requires a community of people who understand why it matters. There are several ways to engage with and support this work:
Spread the Story
Share this website, the history of the Hicks Homestead, and the story of the Dearfield Colony with educators, historians, community organizations, and anyone who cares about African American history and Colorado heritage.
Connect with History Colorado
History Colorado (the Colorado Historical Society) oversees the State Register of Historic Properties and administers programs that support the preservation of sites like the Hicks Homestead. Their work is critical to the long-term future of this property.
Engage with African American Heritage Organizations
Colorado's African American heritage organizations — including the Black American West Museum & Heritage Center in Denver — help preserve and tell stories like the Hicks Homestead's. Your engagement and support of these organizations strengthens the broader ecosystem of preservation.
Support Archaeological Research
The archaeological record at the Hicks Homestead has only begun to be understood. Supporting universities, historical societies, and research institutions that conduct this work helps ensure the full story is told — not just what we can see above ground, but what lies beneath.
Visit the Dearfield Townsite
The Dearfield townsite is currently accessible as a historic area in Weld County. Visiting the Dearfield Filling Station and Lodge/Jackson House — and then learning about the surrounding homesteads like the Hicks property — is a meaningful way to connect with this history.
African American Heritage Sites: National Context
The Hicks Homestead deserves to be understood alongside the most significant African American heritage sites in the nation:
Nicodemus, Kansas
Established 1877. Now a National Park Service site — the oldest and only continuously operating Black homesteading community west of the Mississippi River.
Comparable settlement; Nicodemus shows the national significance of such sites.
New Philadelphia, Illinois
Established mid-1800s. The oldest known African American settlement in the United States, predating the Civil War.
National precedent for recognizing African American community sites.
The Dry, Colorado
The only other African American agricultural colony in Colorado (Otero County). Unlike the Hicks Homestead, The Dry has no surviving buildings from the settlement period.
Makes the Hicks Homestead House uniquely irreplaceable within Colorado.