150 years of the Homestead Act

The entire 4 pages of the Homestead Act of 1862

I arrived in Beatrice, Nebraska on May 19. On May 20th I drove from my hotel in town out to Homestead National Monument, which is about 4 miles west of town on state highway 4.

The monument had the entire 4 pages of the Homestead Act on display, it was the first time all 4 pages were displayed together.

Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into law on May 20th 1862 and Homestead National Monument is celebrating 150 years of the Homestead Act.

The Homestead Act allowed anyone over the age of 21 (or over 18 if they were married and the head of the house) to claim 160 acres of land in over 30 states. To keep the land the claimant had to 'prove up.' The proving period lasted 5 years and included requirements such as building a house and improving the land, however it was up to the local land office to decide the exact requirements. If the land office agreed that the land had been improved, then the claimant got the deed to the land for an $18 filing fee. The first homestead claim was in Beatrice, Nebraska, by Daniel Freeman. Myth has it that Daniel Freeman pulled his local land officer out of a new years party on January 1, 1863 to be the first to file a claim on the day the law went into effect. Homestead National Monument tells the stories of all homesteader, but is located on Daniel Freeman's land claim.

The Homestead Act was a very progressive piece of legislation in that it allowed not only men, but women, and immigrants to claim land. The Homestead act allowed women to own property 60 years before they were able to vote. The Homestead Act brought many people from western Europe and the east coast out to the great plains and the American west. Over 1.6 million people claimed 270 million acres during the time that the act was in place. Ellis Island was developed to help process all of the people coming form other countries to claim land through the homestead act.. 10% of all land in the United States was passed from the federal government to private citizen while the act was in effect. The Homestead Act remained in effect in the lower 48 until 1976 and in Alaska until 1986.

Heritage center and the prairie

Homestead National Monument has restored the land that was Daniel Freeman's land claim back to the tall grass prairie that would have been seen when people stated moving westward.

Dickcissel are very common birds on the prairie