You can explore an original homesteader's cabin at Homestead National Monument of America/David and Kay Scott

Our only previous visit to Homestead National Monument of America in Nebraska occurred nearly four decades ago while headed east to Indiana from Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California. Driving on U.S. 36 that spans northern Kansas, we made a spur-of-the-moment decision to take a short detour north into southern Nebraska and visit Homestead National Monument, a NPS area that would be a new park unit for us. 

At the time we were in a hurry and all we did upon arrival was take in the small visitor center, peek into the homestead cabin, and walk to the site where a cabin had been constructed by Daniel Freeman on one of the first homesteads to be granted under the Homestead Act of 1862. As we remember, it was during the late afternoon and there were few other visitors.

Nebraska seems the natural location to celebrate the Homestead Act, and residents of the state began campaigning in the early 1900s for a national park celebrating the Freeman homestead on which the monument is located. Not only was the Freeman claim near Beatrice one of the country's first claims under the homestead legislation, nearly half the state's acreage was homesteaded, the highest percentage of any state. Also, consider that Nebraska's capital was named for the U.S. President who signed the Homestead Act.

The Heritage Center offers many great exhibits that take you through the homesteading period of America/David and Kay Scott

Today's Homestead National Monument of America

Our recent visit in late April allowed more time to take in the national monument that had undergone substantial change since our initial visit. There is much more to see and experience compared to our previous visit. In fact, this time we visited late one afternoon and decided to return the following morning after spending a night in nearby Beatrice.

Visitors to the monument now have the opportunity to explore a futuristic prow-shaped Heritage Center that opened in 2007 as the monument's visitor center. The entrance to the two-story building is bordered on one side by a wall highlighted with the outlines of states in which homesteads were granted. The center has a wall of windows offering views of a restored tall grass prairie similar to that experienced by the homesteaders.

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Visitors generally begin a tour of the center with an excellent 20-minute audio visual presentation that examines the manner in which a wide range of people, including immigrants and Native Americans, were impacted by passage of the Homestead Act. The building's numerous educational exhibits offer a look at the people, the equipment, and the living conditions of homesteaders. One particularly interesting video describes how a 29-year-old Vietnam veteran went about becoming the last person to file a homestead claim in 1974.

Exhibits inside the Education Center feature tools and machinery homesteaders used/David and Kay Scott

A separate Education Center in an expanded version of the building that served as the former visitor center houses old farm implements, special exhibits including paintings, and is the site of numerous programs and presentations organized by the National Park Service. A small homestead cabin moved to the monument from a nearby location illustrates the crowded living conditions that existed for families attempting to make a life from their 160-acre plot of land.

Importance of the Homestead Act

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Many individuals are surprised to learn that 30 states were involved in the homestead movement. Several states, such as Indiana and Nevada, had only a small amount of land claimed and settled by homesteaders, while other states including Montana and Nebraska were to a large extent populated by homesteaders. Overall, the act resulted in transferring 270 million acres – 10 percent of the country's area – from the public domain to private citizens. The act was repealed in 1976, with an exception for homesteading in Alaska that terminated a decade later.

Offering free land to individuals and organizations was not new to the United States, for the government had been giving away land since the late 1700s. For example, land was given for public schools and to military veterans. However, offering free land to settlers had been opposed by many citizens, especially Southerners who were concerned about its impact on the region's plantation-based economy. It wasn't until Southern states seceded from the Union, beginning with South Carolina in 1860, that President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act of 1862.

Establishing a Homestead

Head of households or individuals 21 years of age and older, including single women, immigrants, and former slaves, could claim a 160-acre piece of land under the Homestead Act of 1862. Individuals were first required to file an intention to homestead with the local land office, where they paid a $10 filing fee and a $2 commission to the land agent who examined whether an earlier claim had been made for the same plot of land. Assuming the land was previously unclaimed, the prospective homesteader returned to the plot of land to begin farming and constructing a home in order to meet the requirements to “prove up” the claim and assume legal possession of the property. After five years of farming, the final step was to have two friends or neighbors verify the homesteader's claim of improving the land.

The number of successful land claims increased steadily from the 1870s until the second decade of the 1900s when they peaked at 439,710. Over 42 million acres were transferred to homesteaders during the five years beginning in 1911, a number that had decreased to 238,000 acres during the five years ending in 1960.

Homestead National Monument of America

The National Park Service offers a variety of programs at the monument throughout the year. During this centennial year for the National Park Service, this includes speakers, films, theatrical productions, concerts, and history programs. May 28th will feature the Tallgrass Prairie Fiddle Festival, and the monument's Homestead Days will take place during the weekend of June 17-19. The monument's most unique program is a community garden in which local residents can apply for a free 10' x 15' plot to grow their own vegetables. It's not as permanent a claim as Daniel Freeman's 160-acre homestead, but it sounds like a great government program.