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High and Dry: Colorado in Drought – Part I, The Past

By 02/27/2021 | updated 5 years ago
Alice McDonald leans on the front of her truck while looking out over a property on The Dry, where she grew up and spent many years of her life. She remembers many of the families that were out on The Dry when she grew up, but over the years they all disappeared until only her family and a couple others were left. Many of the families have lost or sold their homesteads, but McDonald is steadfast to keep the property in her family and pass it on to her son. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)

The severe drought that swept through Colorado in 2020 leaving the prairies cracked and dusty and the forests tinder dry ahead of the state’s largest wildfires could be a harbinger of what the future will hold. However, in the arid Southwest, it’s not the first time that such challenges have wrecked lives and livelihoods. In the first installment of this series we explore the history of The Dry, a Black community in southeast Colorado undone by drought.

Alice McDonald leans on the front of her truck while looking out over a property on The Dry, where she grew up and spent many years of her life. She remembers many of the families that were out on The Dry when she grew up, but over the years they all disappeared until only her family and a couple others were left. Many of the families have lost or sold their homesteads, but McDonald is steadfast to keep the property in her family and pass it on to her son. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
Alice McDonald leans on the front of her truck while looking out over a property on The Dry, where she grew up and spent many years of her life. She remembers many of the families that were out on The Dry when she grew up, but over the years they all disappeared until only her family and a couple others were left. Many of the families have lost or sold their homesteads, but McDonald is steadfast to keep the property in her family and pass it on to her son. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
Alice McDonald grew up on The Dry, an area of land south of Manzanola, Colorado first homesteaded by Black families that moved to Colorado from other Black agricultural communities in the Midwest. McDonald spent most of her life on The Dry. She has fond memories of riding her horse around the area and enjoying the beauty of the prairie. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
Alice McDonald grew up on The Dry, an area of land south of Manzanola, Colorado first homesteaded by Black families that moved to Colorado from other Black agricultural communities in the Midwest. McDonald spent most of her life on The Dry. She has fond memories of riding her horse around the area and enjoying the beauty of the prairie. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
Clockwise from top photo: Alice and her brother, Harvey, Jr., sit on a pair of horses, Fancy and Dolly, behind a couple of their family's milk cows at their homestead in the 1940s. Alice McDonald's niece, Margery Owens, pets Dolly the saddle pony at McDonald's homestead during a summer time visit around 1961-62. Alice McDonald's father, Harvey, Sr., and McDonald's nephew, Jayme Owens, sit in the shade of the elm tree in front of McDonald's homestead in the early 1960s. (Photos provided by Alice McDonald)
Clockwise from top photo: Alice and her brother, Harvey, Jr., sit on a pair of horses, Fancy and Dolly, behind a couple of their family’s milk cows at their homestead in the 1940s. Alice McDonald’s niece, Margery Owens, pets Dolly the saddle pony at McDonald’s homestead during a summer time visit around 1961-62. Alice McDonald’s father, Harvey, Sr., and McDonald’s nephew, Jayme Owens, sit in the shade of the elm tree in front of McDonald’s homestead in the early 1960s. (Photos provided by Alice McDonald)
Alice McDonald stands on the doorstep of her grandmother Lulu Craig's home in the late 1970s. Craig's home was the last one standing out on The Dry before vandals destroyed it in the 1980s. (Photo provided by Alice McDonald)
Alice McDonald stands on the doorstep of her grandmother Lulu Craig’s home in the late 1970s. Craig’s home was the last one standing out on The Dry before vandals destroyed it in the 1980s. (Photo provided by Alice McDonald)
Alice McDonald stands on the doorstep of her grandmother Lulu Craig's home in the late 1970s. Craig's home was the last one standing out on The Dry before vandals destroyed it in the 1980s. (Photo provided by Alice McDonald)
Alice McDonald stands on the doorstep of her grandmother Lulu Craig’s home in the late 1970s. Craig’s home was the last one standing out on The Dry before vandals destroyed it in the 1980s. (Photo provided by Alice McDonald)
A cattle truck rolls through downtown Springfield, Colorado in February 2021. Springfield is the county seat for Baca County, one of the areas hit hardest by the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
A cattle truck rolls through downtown Springfield, Colorado in February 2021. Springfield is the county seat for Baca County, one of the areas hit hardest by the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
An old ditch leading to a defunct reservoir near The Dry is filled with thousands of tumbleweeds. The reservoir, along with several others, was intended to hold water for residents of The Dry and the surrounding area, but those hopes never came true, and years after they were created, they sat empty and dry. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
An old ditch leading to a defunct reservoir near The Dry is filled with thousands of tumbleweeds. The reservoir, along with several others, was intended to hold water for residents of The Dry and the surrounding area, but those hopes never came true, and years after they were created, they sat empty and dry. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
Richard Craft, Alice McDonald's son, checks out the ruins of an old homestead on The Dry, only a few miles from McDonald's homestead on Jan. 13, 2021. Craft has fond memories of visiting his mother's homestead south of Manzanola, and he hopes to restore the property some day. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
Richard Craft, Alice McDonald’s son, checks out the ruins of an old homestead on The Dry, only a few miles from McDonald’s homestead on Jan. 13, 2021. Craft has fond memories of visiting his mother’s homestead south of Manzanola, and he hopes to restore the property some day. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
A dust storm blows near Springfield, Colo., in 1935 during the dust bowl. (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C) .Dust storm. Baca County, Colorado Digital ID: (digital file from original neg.) fsa 8b26998 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8b26998 Reproduction Number: LC-USF34-001615-ZE (b&w film nitrate neg.) LC-USZ62-13580 (b&w film copy neg. from file print) LC-DIG-fsa-8b26998 (digital file from original neg.) Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
A dust storm blows near Springfield, Colo., in 1935 during the dust bowl. (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C) .Dust storm. Baca County, Colorado Digital ID: (digital file from original neg.) fsa 8b26998 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8b26998 Reproduction Number: LC-USF34-001615-ZE (b&w film nitrate neg.) LC-USZ62-13580 (b&w film copy neg. from file print) LC-DIG-fsa-8b26998 (digital file from original neg.) Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
Richard Craft, Alice McDonald's son, opens up the ranch gate that leads into McDonald's homestead on The Dry. The homestead has been in the family since the 1910s, when The Dry was founded by George Swink and the Rucker sisters, along with several other Black families that moved out to the plains south of Manzanola with hopes and dreams of living an agrarian life and owning their own land. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
Richard Craft, Alice McDonald’s son, opens up the ranch gate that leads into McDonald’s homestead on The Dry. The homestead has been in the family since the 1910s, when The Dry was founded by George Swink and the Rucker sisters, along with several other Black families that moved out to the plains south of Manzanola with hopes and dreams of living an agrarian life and owning their own land. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
A truck transporting hay drives through Baca County, in the very southeastern corner of the state, in February 2021. Baca County was one of the areas hit the hardest by the Dust Bowl, according to historians and experts on the 1930s, and it is still largely dependent on agriculture, although it is also home to a major trucking route. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
A truck transporting hay drives through Baca County, in the very southeastern corner of the state, in February 2021. Baca County was one of the areas hit the hardest by the Dust Bowl, according to historians and experts on the 1930s, and it is still largely dependent on agriculture, although it is also home to a major trucking route. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
Russ Schumacher is the state climatologist for Colorado, and noted that in 2020 Colorado saw about six inches below average precipitation. Schumacher also said that even with average or just below average precipitation, extreme drought can still set in with record setting heat waves and extended periods of high temperatures, like the state saw in much of 2020. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
Russ Schumacher is the state climatologist for Colorado, and noted that in 2020 Colorado saw about six inches below average precipitation. Schumacher also said that even with average or just below average precipitation, extreme drought can still set in with record setting heat waves and extended periods of high temperatures, like the state saw in much of 2020. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
A dilapidated storefront in Springfield, Colorado is pictured in February of 2021. Springfield was among the areas hit hardest by the Dust Bowl, and following the 1930s the area saw a massive exodus of residents. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
A dilapidated storefront in Springfield, Colorado is pictured in February of 2021. Springfield was among the areas hit hardest by the Dust Bowl, and following the 1930s the area saw a massive exodus of residents. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
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Forrest Czarnecki, The Denver Gazette

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