Photos: Black homesteaders

Life

Photos: Black homesteaders

Historic images of Black homesteaders and the settlements they founded in the Western U.S. in the decades after the Civil War. Part of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Black History Month coverage.

DeWitty, Neb.: Members of the St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church in DeWitty Neb. DeWitty was a Black homestead colony that began growing in 1904 with the Kinkaid Act, allowing individuals to claim 640 acres fo land in Nebraska's sand hills. (Solomon Butcher image provided by Descendants of DeWitty)

DeWitty, Neb.: William Parker Walker was one of the early Black homesteaders to arrive in Nebraska. The largest black colony in Nebraska's sand hills was DeWitty, which began to grow in 1904. (Image provided by Artes Johnson)

DeWitty Nebraska, the most populous and longest surviving settlement of Black homesteaders in the state, received a historical marker in 2016 from the Nebraska State Historical Society. (Image provided by Artes Johnson)

Nicodemus, Kan. A community portrait from circa 1885 of Washington Street in Nicodemus, Kan. (Library of Congress)

Nicodemus, Kan.: An undated photo of Black homesteaders in Nicodemus, Kan. The four moved from Tennessee to Kansas as part of the Exodusters movement. (Library of Congress)

Nicodemus, Kan. An undated photo of Black homesteaders in Nicodemus, Kan. (Library of Congress)

Dearfield, Col.: Residents of Dearfield, Col., pose in this undated image. (Courtesy of Charles Nuckolls)

Dearfield, Col.: A woman homesteader of Dearfield, Colo., poses on horseback with a rifle next to an automobile that had seen better days. (Courtesy of Charles Nuckolls)

Dearfield, Col.: Residents hold a funeral procession in Dearfield, Col., in this undated image. (Courtesy of Charles Nuckolls)

Dearfield, Col.: Dr. W.A. Jones poses with three unidentified ladies in a horse-drawn wagon in Dearfield, Colo. (Courtesy of Charles Nuckolls)

Residents of Dearfield, Colo., gather for the 1916 Dearfield Fair. (Courtesy of Charles Nuckolls)

Dearfield, Col.: Residents of Dearfield, Colo., gather for the 1916 Dearfield Fair. (Courtesy of Charles Nuckolls)

Dearfield, Col.: Residents of Dearfield, Colo., gather for the 1916 Dearfield Fair. (Courtesy of Charles Nuckolls)

Dearfield, Col.: Oliver Toussaint Jackson arrived in Colorado from Ohio at age 18, the same year that this photo was taken. He would found the Black homesteader town of Dearfield in Weld County, Colo. (Courtesy of Charles Nuckolls)

Dearfield, Col.: O.T. Jackson founded the settlement of Dearfield, Colo., for Black homesteaders in 1910. (Courtesy of Charles Nuckolls)

Dearfield, Col.: Minerva Jackson, the wife of O.T. Jackson, feeds chickens in Dearfield, Colo., in an undated photo. (Courtesy of Charles Nuckolls)

Dearfield, Col.: Minerva Jackson, the wife of O.T. Jackson, poses at the Dearfield Service Station in Dearfield, Colo., in an undated photo. (Courtesy of Charles Nuckolls)

Dearfield, Col.: Minerva Jackson, the wife of O.T. Jackson, poses with a group in Dearfield, Colo., in an undated photo. (Courtesy of Charles Nuckolls)

Newport News Homesteads, Va.: A homesteader family in Newport News Homesteads, Va. (now known as Aberdeen Gardens), in 1937. (Arthur Rothstein / Library of Congress)

Newport News Homesteads, Va.: The wife of homesteader in Newport News Homesteads, Va. (now known as Aberdeen Gardens), in 1937. (Arthur Rothstein / Library of Congress)

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Credit: Solomon Butcher

DeWitty, Neb.: Members of the St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church in DeWitty Neb. DeWitty was a Black homestead colony that began growing in 1904 with the Kinkaid Act, allowing individuals to claim 640 acres fo land in Nebraska's sand hills. (Solomon Butcher image provided by Descendants of DeWitty)

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