Blackdom is a historic freedom colony in

Chaves County Chaves County is a county in New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,157. Its county seat is Roswell. Chaves County was named for Colonel Jose Francisco Chaves, a military leader there during the Civil War and ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, United States with a population of 300 at its height in 1908 that was founded by

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

settlers in 1901 and abandoned in the mid-1920s. Founded by Frank and Ella Boyer under the requirements of the

Homestead Act The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of Federal lands, government land or the American frontier, public domain, typically called a Homestead (buildings), homestead. In all, mo ...

, the town experienced significant growth in its early years, with settlers from throughout the United States moving to the community. A drought starting in 1916 caused many of the settlers to relocate and the town became uninhabited in 1921. It is now considered a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

History

Henry Boyer, a

freedman A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

from Pullam,

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, was a wagoner with the army units of Stephen W. Kearny during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

in 1846. Henry's son, Frank Boyer, was raised hearing stories from his father about New Mexico before being educated at

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and

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. While at school, he learned about the legal requirements for

homesteading Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of food, and may also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craft work for household use or sale. H ...

. Frank started teaching in Georgia and soon married Ella Louise Boyer (''née'' McGruder), herself a teacher graduated from the Haines Institute. Frank began encouraging African-Americans to report and challenge abuses in the Jim Crow-era South. When his life was threatened by the

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, Frank's father encouraged him to move to the West for his safety. In 1896, Frank traveled to

on foot with two students, Daniel Keyes (who married Ella's sister Willie Frances) and one with the last name of Ragsdale, picking up day labor work along the way. Ella and their four children followed in 1901. Frank's idea was to establish a self-sustaining community which would be free from the hindrances that existed in the South. The community of Blackdom was officially incorporated by 1901, centering largely around Frank and Ella Boyer's home. Frank advertised in newspapers for

homesteaders to join the community and by 1908, the community had 25 families with about 300 people and a number of businesses (including a blacksmith shop, a hotel, a weekly newspaper, and a Baptist church) on of land. W.T. Malone, the first African American to pass the New Mexico Bar exam, was one of the early settlers from

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. The community was the first solely African-American community in the New Mexico Territory. The year 1916 saw worms infest many of the crops, alkali buildup in the soil, and the sudden depletion of the natural wells of the Artesia aquifer that had provided most of the water for the farms. Settlers began leaving the area, moving to Roswell,

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, and Las Cruces. In 1921, the Boyers' house was foreclosed upon and the family relocated to Vado. Blackdom was officially incorporated in 1921. Blackdom was to be 40 acres and 166 lots in the original plan. However, by the time it was recognized as a town, most of the population had relocated because of the water problems. There are no structures remaining in Blackdom, with the exception for the barely visible concrete foundation of the school-house. The Blackdom Baptist Church building was sold in the 1920s and moved to the town of Cottonwood in Eddy County, where it is now a private home.

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celebrations in the community were well-known, and many white ranchers in the area were invited to the community for a large festival and baseball game.

Geography

The Blackdom site is located west of

and south of Roswell. The altitude is .

Legacy

October 26, 2002, was proclaimed Blackdom Day by the governor of New Mexico, and a historical marker was erected at a rest stop on Highway 285, between Roswell and Artesia. Former Blackdom residents and descendants of settlers were present for the dedication ceremony. Archeological examinations of the homestead have been directed by the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Authority. In 2022, an exhibition was held at

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

's University Art Museum titled ''Four Sites of Return: Ritual, Remembrance, Reparation & Reclamation'', featuring a recorded performance of music and dance in Blackdom in the style of early Blackdom performed by a collective of Black artists.

References

{{Chaves County, New Mexico African-American history of New Mexico Geography of Chaves County, New Mexico Ghost towns in New Mexico History of Chaves County, New Mexico Populated places in New Mexico established by African Americans 1901 establishments in New Mexico Territory Populated places established in 1901