Dalton Gackle is from the Park City History Museum. He said from Park City’s founding until the 1970s, there were only a total of 10 to 15 Black people in town at a time.
Gackle said from the 1890s through the 1950s, minstrelsy, which is where white people would dress up as Black people in exaggerated costumes and makeup, was common. But Park City was never a sundown town where white communities were separated from people of color. The city was overall more friendly to Black people, especially after the 1890s. Gackle said this could be because the city was a sort of melting pot.
“People came from all over the world to partake in the mining industry here,” he said. “People of all different ethnicities and religions and backgrounds were coming here.”
One of the most well-known families was Howard and Justine Coleman and their son Howard Jr. Howard was a Pullman porter on overnight trains, but Gackle said he eventually settled and found work in Park City in 1920.
“He actually became the caretaker and custodian of the post office and, you know, helped people get their mail and kept the place running,” he said.
Gackle said Howard’s first wife passed away before he moved out west. However, he kept in touch with one of his wife’s friends, Justine, and proposed to her through mail. Gackle said she accepted, and they married the day after she arrived in Park City. Eventually they adopted their son, Howard Jr.
“They were treated well, generally speaking, and it probably helps that there wasn't a really large Black population here,” Gackle said. "Kind of historically, the larger the Black population, the more fear creeps in for the dominant white population.”
Arthur and Emily Douglas arrived in Park City around the same time as the Colemans. Gackle said they lived on Main Street and ran a restaurant and shoe shining business. The restaurant featured southern comfort food.
“They were known for that restaurant,” Gackle said. “They ended up living the rest of their lives here, they're buried in Park City Cemetery.”
Gackle said at the time it was typical for Black men to have wartime service. Arthur served in the Spanish American War and Howard served in World War I.
“At that time, you're trying to get a level of respectability with the majority white population,” Gackle said. “Serving in war, maybe gains you a little bit of respect in that sense.”
Another Black Park City community member was William Jefferson Hardin, who also did wartime service. Hardin was born in the south before the Civil War, but Gackle said he was never enslaved.
Gackle said he eventually moved out of the antebellum south and into Denver. At the time, Colorado was applying for statehood, but Gackle said Hardin was involved in a movement to change Colorado’s constitution to provide more rights for Black people. He moved to Park City in 1883.
“He kind of wanted to step away from political life. He opened a barber shop and a bathhouse here. It seemed to have a decent amount of success,” Gackle said. “But then he gets a little restless and he gets back into politics locally.”
Hardin was part of the Liberal Party of Park City. Gackle said this spurred Hardin to get involved in politics in Colorado again as well. However, Gackle suspects things started to take a toll on Hardin. He committed suicide in the late 1880s and was buried in the Park City Cemetery.
Jane Parker was another prominent Black community member in Park City. She moved to town with her son Gus around 1887. Parker was known for her talents as a baker and chef.
“She made some pretty fabulous cakes that we have some amazing pictures of,” Gackle said.
Gackle said Art and Bernie Sibley are known in Park City because their children were allegedly the first Black children to be born in Park City. Art was a taxi driver in town and Gackle said he might have been the chauffeur for Park City’s most prominent madam at the time.
Gackle said Park City has never had a Black population of more than 2%, which is why their history in town is limited. However, these families were still Parkites who contributed and are remembered in town.
