Homestead Act

In US history, an act of Congress in May 1862 that encouraged settlement of land in the west by offering plots of up to 65-ha/160-acres, cheaply or even free, to citizens aged 21 years and over, or heads of family. In return, they had to promise to stay on the plot for five years, and to cultivate and improve the land, as well as build a house. The law was designed to prevent people from controlling vast amounts of land in order to make a quick fortune. By 1900 about 32 million ha/80 million acres had been distributed. Homestead lands are available to this day.

Homesteaders could buy their land after living on it for six months for $1.25 per acre, or they could expand the amount of land by paying $50 for 16 ha/40 acres, a huge amount of money at that time. A later act allowed homesteaders to file a timber claim, which allowed them to get another 65 ha/160 acres free if they planted at least 4 ha/10 acres in timber producing trees. The soil in the Plains area was very hard to plough, and the settlers were unable to plant very much until John Deere invented the Grand Detour steel plough, which had a suitably tough blade.