Family with Their Covered Wagon During the Great Western Migration, in Loup Valley, Nebraska – 1886
President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act on May 20, 1862. The new law established a three-fold homestead acquisition process: file an application, improve the land, and file for deed of title.
Any U.S. citizen, or intended citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. Government could file an application and lay claim to 160 acres of surveyed Government land.
