You've probably heard "40 acres and a mule" is an ideal family farmstead, but consider that 160 acres of land provided that the family might be able to divide that up as children grew to maturity and another generation or two could live there. But then what? For a small filing fee, even a freed slave could apply to homestead land. An immigrant who was not yet an American citizen could apply and get land. And, though women's liberation (Feminism) was the cause of few, you could apply as a woman. If there's a chance that one of your American ancestors claimed land and that can be a very interesting thing to add to your family history research project.
Most of the land was "unsettled" such as in the prairie lands, though today we know that notions that "nobody" lived in these places is often not correct because Native American did live there.
New settlers had to live on the land they wanted for a continuous five years and improve it. For some this was living off the land and living in an underground house until an above ground house could be built. Cutting down trees or tilling soil could be considered an improvement.
Today I think of the modern Tiny House movement because families back in the day often lived in a house that was basically one room. Today, we seriously question if displacing people so that gentrification can take place is socially responsible behavior.
HISTORY COM - Homestead Act Basics
NATIONAL ARCHIVES GOV - HOMESTEAD ACT including some documents
Next post I'll tell you how to find these documents.
This post is part of a series. To pull up the series, click on the tag Help - Land Grants- AWG
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