Jackson, O. T. (Oliver Tousaint), 1862-1948

Variant names

Dates:

Birth 1862-03-06

Death 1948-02-18

Biographical notes:

Founder of Dearfield, Colo., an agricultural community established by Afro-Americans.

From the description of Letters, 1889-1939. (Denver Public Library). WorldCat record id: 17253462

Oliver Tousaint Jackson was born in Oxford, Ohio, April 6, 1862. He and his wife Minerva arrived in Colorado from Cleveland on April 4, 1887. Until 1894, they lived in Denver where they had a catering business. O. T. was also employed by the State of Colorado as a messenger for several of the early governors.

In 1910, Jackson homesteaded land 30 miles east of the county seat, Greeley, and began advertising for colonists. The name Dearfield was suggested by one of the early settlers, Dr. J. H. P. Westbrook, a physician from Denver. The name was adopted because the land was to be very dear to the hearts of the settlers.

The autumn of 1911 found seven families and three teams of horses in residence. The struggles of the colonists, most of whom had no agricultural experience, taught them techniques of dry land farming and the raising of livestock and poultry. By 1921, Dearfield was thriving. The Weld County News (Nov.) proclaimed a colony of 700 people with improved lands worth circa $750,000, livestock and poultry worth $200,000 and an annual production of $125,000. Then came the Great Depression and the years of the Dust Bowl. By 1940, only 12 people lived in Dearfield.

Minerva Jackson died December 9, 1942. After her death, O. T. advertised the Dearfield townsite for sale, but there was no buyer. O. T. Jackson died on Wednesday, February 18, 1948. News of his death was published in the Greeley Daily Tribune 2/19/1948 p.12. He is buried beside his wife in Linn Grove Cemetery, Block H-L, Greeley, Colorado. The Jacksons had no children.

From the guide to the O. T. Jackson papers, 1914-1942, 1933, (James A. Michener Library, Archival Services Department, )