Research Family History

Researching homestead records at the Heritage center at Homestead National Historical Park

NPS Photo

Research the digitized homestead land records and genealogy records for free at Homestead National Historical Park.

• Bureau of Land Managment's Generla Land Office Records

• Fold3

• Ancestry

• Family Search

The Bureau of Land Managment's General Land Office Records has digitzed the land patent for most transfers of land from federal to private citzens with more than five million Federal land title records available.

The paperwork required of homesteaders before they could obtain a patent resulted in exceptionally detailed land records which are held by the National Archives.These land-entry case files describe improvements made to the property, including houses constructed, wells dug, crops planted, trees cleared, and fences built. Some case files mention family members who lived on the land. If the claimant died and a widow or heirs completed the homesteading process, a date of death is given and relationships are explained.

If you are researching homesteads in Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Wyoming, and/or Utah, you can search for their homestead records (up to 1908) at Homestead National Historical Park for free. You may also search for digitized homestead records from your own computer on Fold3.com and Ancestry.com, both of which require a subscription for these premium records.

Another resource available at the park is FamilySearch.org which has homestead records for claims that were "relinquished" (or failed) in Nebraska and Kansas. 

Details

Activity

Hands-On

Pets Allowed

No

Activity Fee

No

Entrance fees may apply, see Fees & Passes information.

Location

Heritage Center

Reservations

No

Season

Year Round

Accessibility Information

Rangers will be available to guide visitors through the process of finding records.