Race-based property covenants in Jefferson County, Colorado

Historical race-based real estate developments in Jefferson County, Colorado from 1910 to 1950

Christopher Thiry, MILS. Map & GIS Librarian, Colorado School of Mines

Introduction:

Real estate developers in Jefferson County, starting in the mid-1910s through 1950, proactively inserted race-based exclusionary language into planning documents.  These clauses were usually placed in new neighborhoods’ or developments’ covenants on maps, and boldly stated that new houses in these areas in Jefferson County would be for “Caucasians only.”  The covenants were legal documents (now no longer enforceable) that were approved by Jefferson County government officials, and enforced by law.

Quick history of racism in zoning and covenants in USA real estate: Starting in the late 1800s but not catching on until the early 1900s, forms of discrimination in real estate ownership and occupancy in the USA became codified—written into legal documents.  Laws and codes were put in place in the real estate system that allowed people, with the full backing of the local, state, and federal governments, to discriminate on the basis of skin color, ethnicity, and religion.

At the beginning of the 1900s, cities across the US passed zoning ordinances that said who could live in what part of the city.  Usually this had to do with race but sometimes it had to do with religion or ethnicity.  In part, these ordinances were passed in response to the Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South to Northern and Midwestern industrial cities.  These zoning ordinances were struck down by the Supreme Court in 1917 in Buchanan vs. Warley.

Blocked by this route, people tried a different way to keep neighborhoods segregated—they inserted race-based exclusionary language into neighborhood covenants or even property deeds.  Covenants, usually titled “Restrictive Covenants” in real estate, are legally-binding statements associated with an individual property.  Today, many of us are familiar with covenants that limit what color you can paint your house.

Starting in the 1910s, developers often included race-based restrictive language into covenants that covered entire subdivisions or neighborhoods.  In 1926, in Corrigan v. Buckley, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that such clauses constituted a "private action" thus not subject to the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.  Therefore, the covenants were legal and could be backed by the law and law enforcement.  The incidences of race-based exclusionary language exploded afterwards.  Many foundational documents for the housing booms in the late 1920s through the 1940s included these raced-based restrictions.

However, on May 3, 1948, in Shelly v. Kraemer, the Supreme Court ruled that the race-based covenants were unenforceable by government agencies.  Interestingly, 3 of the 9 justices had to recuse themselves in this case because they owned property that had a race-based covenant attached to it.  The 1964 Civil Rights Act dealt with many inequities under the law.  The 1968 Fair Housing Act outlawed discrimination in real estate practices.  But the effects of racism in real estate and housing are long-lasting, and the legacy of former legal practices are deep and impact our society to this day.

In fact, those race-based covenants, while totally unenforceable, are still on official records including subdivision plats and even some deeds.

Redlining: Starting in the Great Depression, lending agencies in cooperation with the federal and state governments, created maps of large cities that categorized neighborhoods into grades with the highest or best areas being “A” (green) down to “D”, the worst (red) (outlined in red—redlined).

  • “A” (green) meant the area was full of quality houses and a safe place to make low-interest loans with government backed insurance.
  • “D” (red) meant the exact opposite—low quality homes, a risky place to make loans, no government backed insurance.  In some cases, the map makers called these red areas “hazardous”.

And the ratings applied not just to the houses but also the people that lived there.  Green—low or good risk.  Red—bad risk.  The green (A) neighborhoods were almost exclusively inhabited by white people.  And sadly and unsurprisingly, the red neighborhoods were mostly inhabited by groups of people that the powers that be wanted to marginalize.  The main target was African Americans.  Other groups such as recent immigrants and the poor were also targeted. 

Couple redlining with race-based exclusionary language in neighborhood covenants, and the fact was that most African Americans at the time could not move to a different neighborhood.  And even worse, they could not get a loan to buy a house even in a redlined area—they were starved of capital.  This meant most African Americans had a difficult time building equity and wealth with real estate—the most common way white Americans build wealth.  Redlining and race-based covenants are merely parts of the many interlocking pieces of forced segregation and systemic racism.

1938 Redlining map of Denver

Area D13, better known as the Five Points District in Denver

Accompanying the redlining maps are standardized forms describing each area.  This page is for area D13, what is now known as part of the 5 Points neighborhood in Denver.

Much of this form is rather mundane – “description of terrain”, buildings “type, construction, occupancy, rent range, price range”.  This is standard information that is empirical.  Where you see the societal lens of race is in the parts that are subjective such as the lines for “Favorable influences” or “Detrimental Influences.”  The people who filled out this form said the “Detrimental Influences” were “Negro concentration.”

Other subjective parts are under “Inhabitants”.  Some categories are plain facts like “occupation” of people, “estimated annual family income” “population—increasing, decreasing, static.” 

While the following categories could be considered empirical, we have to ask “why should this matter?”

  • % of foreign-born families and where are they from.
  • % of African Americans.
  • number of “relief families” – “relief” mean government assistance, something akin to welfare or unemployment benefits.

Sadly, at the time, all of these terms carried a negative connotation.  Worse yet, these terms were so entrenched in our society, that even today, many consider them still to have negative effects.

The most onerous term here is “Infiltration”.  In this case, the people wrote  “Negroes”.

What is utterly fascinating and utterly revolting is the “Clarifying Remarks” about this neighborhood:

“This is a better Negro section of Denver and is one of the best colored districts in the United States.  The northeast part of it is often referred to as the ‘Negro Country Club.’  It is an old brick section with a reasonably large number of well-kept newer houses, mostly occupied by Negroes.  It is not a typical Negro area of cheap, tumble-down ill-kept shacks found in eastern and mid-western cities, but all of the colored occupants are housed in brick structures – either detached or in terraces.  For a Negro section it is very well kept up.  Were it not for the heavy colored population much of it could be rated ‘C’.  In financing home ownership, the better class negroes usually obtain loans from institutions; but others are victims of industrial operators who have high fees and high interest rates.”

Plat maps of Jefferson County, Colorado: Plats are maps of developments—new neighborhoods/subdivisions.  Plats are created for property owners by surveyors or engineers for the purpose of subdividing the land and selling it into lots.  The plats are signed and approved by county officials—Planning Board and County Commissioners.  The plats are filled and remain with the Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder’s Office.

In order to do the research for this project, I searched all the plats of Jefferson County from the 1860s to 1950.  I examined approximately 1,000 documents, and found about 200 plats with protective covenants or something similar.  Sadly, approximately 85% of those 200 plats had race-based restrictions in their covenants.  Starting in mid-1940s, almost all plats did.  Despite the Supreme Court ruling them illegal in June 1948, it wasn’t until February 1950 that the race-based language disappeared from real estate covenants in Jefferson County. 

This is an example of a plat map. The Goodhart-Stoddard Subdivision is located on the northeast corner of Garrison and 32nd in what is now Wheat Ridge. This map was drawn in 1947 by a surveyor or engineer.  The plat shows property boundaries and new roads, as well as the dimensions of the properties.

Most plats follow this form: 1)      The Clerk and Recorder’s filing # -- sometimes the Book and Page #. 2)      Title and legal geographic description. 3)      Dedication—this tells you who the owners are plus their signatures. 4)      Notary acknowledgement. 5)      Protective covenants – this is where you find the race-based exclusionary language. 6)      Engineer’s certificate – done by a surveyor or engineer. 7)      Approvals – by Planning Commission, Board of Commissioners, Clerk and Recorder.  All with signatures and official seals.

The 1947 West Alameda Heights subdivision has 304 lots.

The 1947 Wilmore Subdivision has 5 lots.

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Here’s an example of the race-based exclusionary language.  Always remember that these were legal documents backed by the power of the government, and signed by government officials.

There are 2 versions of the race-based exclusionary language on the plats – inclusionary and exclusionary.  The statements almost always use the same phrases.

Inclusionary – who is allowed to live there – Glenda Subdivision 1946.

“No persons of any race other than the Caucasian Race shall use or occupy any building or any lot.  This covenant shall not however prevent such use or occupancy by domestic servants of a different race domiciled with, or in the employ of a white owner or tenant.”

Exclusionary – who is NOT allowed to live there – North Lakewood Heights 1939. “No tract shall at any time be occupied by any person or persons of Mongolian or Negro races.  However, this shall not prohibit the employment of persons of such races on their premises by the occupants.”

Other races, ethnicities and religions were often singled out in the restrictions. In the 5th subdivision of Indian Hills, in the main part of the restrictions, the owners allow “Indians” as well as Caucasians to own or occupy the properties.  Nice of the Ollinger Company at the time to allow Indians to live in Indian Hills.  However, in subparagraph 1, they say that occupants can only be Caucasian. 

1939 Upland Acres Subdivision says that members of both the “Mongolian or Negro races” may not live there.  “Mongolian” was a catch-all term used to describe Asian Americans.

Legal stamp on plats: The race-restrictive clauses were struck down as unenforceable in 1948.  However, to this day they remain on the documents held by the county. In order to make it clear that the race-based statements are illegal now, all of the documents with raced-based language have the following stamp. “Restrictive or Protective covenants which contain any specification limiting the transfer, rental or lease of any housing because of race, creed, religion, color, sex, marital status, national origin or ancestry, or handicap or other like classifications may be prohibited by State and Federal laws.”

The motivations of people at the time are difficult to determine, but this is an onerous example.  In this 1945 map of Kincaid Springs Subdivision, the statement regarding race was added later in a different handwriting.  Clearly a conscious choice. 

But in most cases, it is not so obvious.  Because the language was so standard from document to document, were the people just mindlessly copying things out of a book?  Were they aware and conscious of the race-based exclusionary language?  Why can I find some subdivisions without these clauses?  Were these people forgetful?  Or altruistic?  Or did the absence of race-based restrictions merely recognize the reality of the moment—that African Americans were already living in the area?  Without more in-depth research, this will be difficult to know.

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After consulting the scans of the plats, I identified the areas they covered, and extracted some language and other facts. Using GIS (Geographic Information Systems), I created polygons of the areas covered by the plats, and put all the polygons together on to a single map. I color-coded the polygons.

  • Red = plats with race-based restrictions
  • Green = plats with NO race-based restrictions
  • Yellow = plats where the information was murky.

Some of the colors are darker or lighter. This is due to overlapping plats.

The website does NOT have scans to the plats or deeds themselves.

Here is an example of a single property within a neighborhood that had race-restricted covenants. There other neighborhoods like this.  Glen Creighton is located on the north side of Colfax and extends to 20th Avenue.  It is bounded on the west by Garrison and on the east by Estes.

The neighborhood was developed by Cyrus Creighton who famously bought the 80 acres for $32,000 in 1922 and immediately planned to develop the area into homes.  He called the development “The Glens”.  In filings he called it “Glen Creighton.” Cyrus Creighton hired renown Denver landscape architect, Saco R. DeBoer to design the neighborhood with curving tree-lined lanes surrounding the Glen Creighton Park.  The Glen’s promised, “quiet, restful homes in a beautiful park, away from the smoke and dirt of the city.”

The plat contains restrictive covenants, which says… “I, Cyrus J. Creighton… do… #7 Stipulate that no plot at anytime shall be occupied by any person or persons of Mongolian or Negro races, and in case of such occupancy, continued for an aggregate period of 30 days, the title thereto shall revert to me, my successors, or assigns.  This provision shall not prohibit the employment of members of such races by the occupants.”

#9, the final inclusion says, “That the provisions numbered 3 to 9 inclusive, shall be in force for a period of 40 years (1962), from and after the date of this acknowledgement, and after that period shall be changed only by a majority vote of the property owners.”  Signed Cyrus J. Creighton.

This is very deliberative, discriminatory language.  Here is an example of a stipulation being so onerous that if African or Asian American were even to occupy, not even own, a house for an aggregate 30 days, the property would revert to Cyrus Creighton.  Plus these rules were in place for 40 years and could only be changed afterwards by a vote.  The rules do not automatically go away.

1701 Glen Ayr Drive

Most deeds do not have covenants or restrictions.  A few mention them in passing, saying things to effect of “see restrictive covenants listed on plat.”  But some deeds do have the race-based exclusions.

This deed is for what would become 1701 Glen Ayr Drive in the Glen Creighton development.  It was built in 1927, is on 0.4 acres and sold in May 2020 for $930,000.

The deed for this property includes restrictions.  #4 says, “The premises herein described are conveyed upon the further express condition that said premises shall not be sold, leased or rented to any person or persons other than of the Caucasian race, nor shall any person or persons other than of the Caucasian race (servant help excepted) be permitted to occupy said premises.”

The restrictions conclude with: “To all of which restrictions and conditions the grantee hereby consents and agrees to be bound thereby, provided, however, that all of each of the above restrictive conditions, with the exception of the express condition that said property shall not be sold, leased, or rented to any person or person other than of the Caucasian race, shall terminate of the first day of January, 1945, and shall not thereafter be enforceable.”

That last bit makes plain the inherent racism of the developer.  This deed has restrictions, but those expire in 18 years EXCEPT the part about allowing non-Caucasians to live here.  This goes on forever.

Lessons learned from this research:

These offensive statements still exist on documents today.  They are unlawful and unenforceable but sit as reminders of our past.

Jefferson County remained very rural until the explosive development in the 1950s and 1960s and 1970s.  Population of the county in 1950 was 55,000—1/10 of today.

The number of African Americans living in the county in 1950 was very small—only about 0.4%.  But this data may be incorrect.  The 1920 through 1950 Censuses only categorized people as being “white” and “non-white”.   However, the 1930 Census did have a category “Negroes”—64 lived in Jefferson County in 1930, while the entire the population of the County at the time was 21,000.

The information I have found so far has mostly been on the plats.  In Jefferson County, the covenants seem to be more preventative.  The African American population was not large in Colorado nor in Jefferson County.  Certain people sought to keep it that way.  The race-based covenants in our county seem to have some long-term thinking behind them.  This could have only happened if developers and county and city planners were involved.  Individual property holders rarely think or can even act on a such a grand scale or over such a long timeline.

The plats that I examined were signed by local elected and appointed officials.  Those officials represented the will of people.  Behind these documents was the power of law and policing.

Author's note:

This is not an easy topic.  While I might speak about this with a certain level of authority and assuredness, I can tell you this subject makes me uncomfortable. What I worry about is that this subject and my research will be too easily misunderstood.  I am concerned that people will use this topic to make accusations and blame of individuals who had nothing to do with or little power to change events that happened decades ago. I also worry that we will judge too harshly people of the past by holding them against the standards of today. However, it is important to point out the wrongs and injustices of the past.  It is important to identify those who through their deeds and actions clearly acted reprehensibly even for their times.

One of my goals with this project is to document and shed light on our past.  Sadly, systemic racism existed throughout our country.  These covenants with race-based exclusionary language were enacted in all corners of our land including right here in Jefferson County, Colorado.  I am certain that an examination of records in counties throughout the United States would reveal similiar statements and practices. Another of my goals is to inform everyone so that we no long remain naïve nor willfully ignorant of how our county came to be in its present form.  My fondest hope is that the knowledge generated from this project can be used make this a more perfect union with liberty and justice for all.

Christopher J.J. Thiry Map & GIS Librarian Arthur Lakes Library Colorado School of Mines cthiry@mines.edu

Additional resources:

Christopher J.J. Thiry, Map & GIS Librarian, Colorado School of Mines

1701 Glen Ayr Drive