Daniel Freeman-Homestead Nat. Monum

History Moments

Air Date: 04/08/2018

On may 20, 1862, president Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act. For the first time in history, any man, woman, free black or immigrant seeking citizenship who was a head of household was eligible to claim land. It gave adults 160 acres if they filed paperwork, paid a small fee, and made improvements on the land within five years. When the homestead act went into effect January 1, 1863, Daniel Freeman, an american physician and Civil War veteran became the first person to file a claim. His claim was filed ten minutes after midnight at the land offices in Brownville. The site of Freeman’s claim is now the site of the Homestead National Monument, northwest of Beatrice in Gage county. Through the years several structures were built on the land. None of them are in tact today.