Park photo

The New Heritage Center

Construction on the new Homestead Heritage Center at Homestead National Monument of America is complete. The building was dedicated and opened on May 20th. The Opening Celebration was held May 20, the anniversary of the signing of the Homestead Act by Abraham Lincoln. 

This multipurpose facility brings the epic homestead story to life for visitors of all ages and demonstrates the true scope and importance of the Homestead Act of 1862.

State-of-the-art exhibits present homesteading in an interactive setting. Such topics as the Act's influence on immigration, agriculture, industrialization, native tribes, the tallgrass prairie ecosystem and Federal land policies are presented in an educational and thought-provoking manner.

A diverse, detailed and complete picture of homesteading and the Homestead Act are presented at the Homestead Heritage Center. The building is designed to represent the Homestead Act of 1862 with its spectacular views and unique roof line resembling a single bottom plow moving through the sod. Along the sidewalk entrance to the building is the "Living Wall," a physical representation of the percentage of land that was successfully homesteaded in each state. Even the parking lot is educational in nature; it is one acre in size.

The Heritage Center includes an area used as a repository for microfilm copies of every homestead case file produced throughout the life of the Act.  The approximately two million microfilmed case files will be stored in this facility.  These records, as they are microfilmed and indexed in partnership with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will be available to visitors, scholars, genealogists and historians. As they come on-line, visitors to the Monument will be able to learn about the hardships and joys homesteaders experienced through museum exhibits and the primary homesteading documents in the records center. The records center will play a vital role in presenting a complete view of homesteading history.