Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2023
Abstract
Historical archaeology, except in cases where physical evidence is missing or destroyed, can often make significant contributions for reconstructing earlier lifestyles, economies, and social, political, and faith histories. The scientific recovery and interpretation of archaeological evidence in the form of artifacts, architecture, and human-organized spatial patterns is essential in understanding and contextualizing documentary, photographic, and memoric (e.g., oral history) evidence. In the case of the early 20th Century Dearfield townsite and its associated African American farming colony, retrieving their surviving archaeological records is both rewarding and challenging. Dearfield the townsite represents the founding seed from which the larger colony community grew and flourished for two decades in southeastern Weld County. Although the townsite was the object of earlier historic research and limited surface surveys and archaeological testing, creation of the multi-disciplinary Dearfield Dream Project in 2012 represented a substantial advance in townsite preservation and integrated historic research programs. Implementation of the archaeological component of that project has resulted in six annual field seasons from 2011 through 2022. This report describes results from the 2021 excavations at the collapsed remains of the site’s Grocery Store, constructed in 1914. The most recent 2022 field season is still in preparation and future archaeological programs are planned for future years
Recommended Citation
Brunswig, Robert H., "2021 Excavations of the Dearfield General Store and 1930s Dance Pavilion at the Dearfield Townsite and National Register of Historic Places District" (2023). Dearfield Archaeological Reports. 4.
https://digscholarship.unco.edu/dearfield_arch/4