Nebraska with a cutout showing the amount of homesteaded land
NPS Photo
Nebraska was once known as part of the "Great American Desert," but through homesteading it became an extremely inhabitable and agriculturally productive land. The Homestead Act led to a rapid increase in Nebraska's population after the Civil War, which helped lead Nebraska to become the first new state admitted to the Union after the end of the war.
One of the very first homesteads of approximately two million in the nation is near Beatrice, Nebraska which is now the site of Homestead National Historical park. In total, 104,260 homesteads were proved up. This totals 22,253,314 acres of land amounting to 45% of the state – the highest percentage of homesteaded land of any state
The Homestead Act brought people here who intended to stay and make their lives in this state. Some of Nebraska's most well-known citizens were or are the descendants of homesteaders, such as Willa Cather, Mari Sandoz, Tom Osborne, Amy Heidemann, and Marg Helgenberger. Solomon Butcher, one of America's most well-known historical photographers, was himself a homesteader and dedicated much of his career to photographing Nebraska homesteaders.
Locations:Grand Canyon National Park, Homestead National Historical Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Walnut Canyon National Monument
Born December 7, 1873, in Virginia, Willela Sibert Cather grew up on the dusty plains of Red Cloud, Nebraska. Her life took her across the country, and she would become one of the premiere American authors of the 1900s.
Daniel Freeman's homestead claim in Gage County, Nebraska was likely the very first to be made and successfully "proved up" under the Homestead Act of 1862. Today, the claim is a part of Homestead National Historical Park.
Lucinda Stone was a black woman homesteader who could read, write, and sign their name. Lucinda came from Buxton, Canada at the age of twenty-one with the intention of becoming a citizen of the United States. She received her citizenship December 18th, 1886.
Albert F. Riley claimed 632 acres of homestead land in Western Nebraska under the Kincaid Act on June 8, 1907. A Receiver's Duplicate Receipt No. 18851 noted that Riley paid a $14.00 filing fee to set aside the public domain land. Riley's brother George also applied for a homestead in 1907. The brothers were able to acquire adjoining land and raised cattle together just west of the Wamaduze Valley in Cherry County, Nebraska.
Charles and Hester Freeman Meehan were an interracial couple from Canada. They met at the age of eight and were childhood sweethearts. In 1875 they were married in Raleigh Township, Ontario considered by many to be a mecca for people escaping enslavement. Between 1902 and 1907, the Meehan family and several other Canada-Nebraska black homesteaders left for Cherry County. They settled near Brownlee, Nebraska where Charles and his oldest sons filed homestead claims.
Matilda was born in Canada and by the age of 11 her father had passed. Normally her mother who was left to raise the family alone would have endured serious hardship but not in Buxton, Kent, Canada. Buxton was the last stop of the underground railroad for runaway slaves from the states before the Civil War, and the settlement took good care of their own.
Right after the Civil War, James along with his parents and some of his siblings moved to Buxton, Kent, Canada. This is where he met and became friends with the group of homesteaders that ultimately moved back across the border to claim land in Nebraska.
Ewiel L. Hayes first heard about the homesteading opportunities from John G. Pegg, weight and Measures Inspector of Omaha, Nebraska. By 15 July 1910, Hayes settled on the land with the help of his son William Roy Hayes and wife Mary Stanly Hayes.
Benson enlisted in the U.S. Army on February 25, 1875. Caleb Benson served with the 10th Cavalry in Companies D & K. During his service, Benson participated in the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, and the Philippine American War. On July 6, 1905, he received a relinquished homestead claim from Captain Whitehead near Fort Robinson. Soon Benson’s company was called to the Philippines for 18 months. Once he returned he married and lived on his homestead.
Walker's first year of homesteading was the driest Nebraska had seen in many years. There was no rain in which to help make sod bricks for building, so Walker had to dig a well that reached 68 feet before water began to flow.
