Barney L. Ford Building

The Barney L. Ford Building, a privately owned building in Denver, Colorado, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was deemed significant for its association with Barney Ford, an escaped slave who became a prominent businessman and a Republican Party leader in Colorado.[1] The building is included by the National Park Service in lists of Underground Railroad-associated places,[2] for its association with Ford; the Colorado Territory was itself far from the Underground Railway routes north from the slavery states in the U.S. South.

Barney L. Ford Building
Barney L. Ford Building, 1514 Blake Street, Denver, Colorado.
Barney L. Ford Building is located in Colorado
Barney L. Ford Building
Barney L. Ford Building is located in the United States
Barney L. Ford Building
LocationDenver, Colorado
Coordinates39°44′59.1″N 104°59′59.7″W
Built1863
NRHP reference No.76000551
CSRHP No.5DV.47.66
Added to NRHPJune 24, 1976

Building

Ford established his second building on the site in 1863, following his first building being destroyed in a fire that year. Beginning in August, he operated a hair salon and barber shop out of the basement, the "People's Restaurant" on the ground floor, and a bar on the second floor.[3]

Barney Ford
Main article: Barney Ford

Barney Ford was a black pioneer, civil rights activist, and civic leader. He was born into slavery in 1822 in Stafford, Virginia, and eventually escaped to Chicago.[1] He became an abolitionist after meeting Henry O. Wagoner, a member of the Underground Railroad, in Chicago. He was a businessman and a Republican Party, politician. He invested in real estate and hotels in Denver and Cheyenne, Wyoming and in 1854 he had the 14th highest income in the state of Colorado. He lobbied for voting rights for African Americans.[2][1]

References
  1. National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Barney Ford's People's Restaurant / Barney L. Ford Building. National Archives. 1976. Retrieved May 25, 2021. With three photos from 1976-78. (Downloading may be slow.)
  2. "Aboard the Underground Railroad - Barney L. Ford Building". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  3. "Barney L. Ford Building". History Colorado. Retrieved 2021-05-24.

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