Homestead Acts

 
Introduction

Congress has a long history of creating homestead acts that granted specific rights to squatters, settlers, ranchers and miners. Many of these acts urged homesteaders to head west with the promise of inexpensive land. Some of that land had water, plants, trees and minerals, but other lands were desolate, suitable only for cattle or mineral extraction. Over time, many of the acts were amended or repealed, replaced by others with more specific regulations.

This page is divided up into three sections: acts between 1800-1893, between 1840-1899, and between 1900-1930. These divisions approximate acts established before Powell was born, those enacted during his life, and those that followed his death.

 
1800-1839

Many of these acts addressed settlement in expansive territories, recognized squatters, and included consequences for those who claimed land but failed to abide by federal government conditions. Most of these acts were established before John Wesley Powell was born.

 
Land Act of 1800

This Act, also known as the Harrison Land Act for its author, William Henry Harrison, allowed settlers to buy 320 acres in the territory northwest of the Ohio River. The Act enabled settlers to purchase on credit and repay the federal government over a 4-year period. When many of the settlers defaulted, the government expelled them. Some of the reclaimed land was later resold several times before defaults were rescinded by the Land Act of 1820.^[1]

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Northwest Territory Act of 1801

Because Symmes and his associates failed to honor congressional regulations, the federal government refusing to sell large parcels of land to other private real estate speculators. The government seized and surveyed the land and arranged the sale of the property directly to potential settlers. This Act gave preferential rights to settlers in the Northwest Territory who had purchased lands from John Symmes^[2]

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Before the government established land grants in U.S. territories, the French and British had established land grants in the Michigan Territory. To protect settlers in that territory from losing the land they occupied, Congress passed a law allowing them to stay on that land:^[1]

...to every person or persons in actual possession, occupancy, and improvement, of any tract or parcel of land in his, her, or their own right, at the time of the passing of this act, within that part of the Territory of Michigan, to which the Indian title has been extinguished, and which said tract or parcel of land was settled, occupied, and improved, by him, her, or them, prior to and on the first day of July, one thousand seven hundred and ninety six...the said tract or parcel of land thus possessed, occupied, and improved, shall be granted, and such occupant or occupants shall be confirmed in the title to the same, as an estate of inheritance, in fee simple...^[1]

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Intrusion Act of 1807

This Act authorized the federal government to forcibly remove squatters from privately-owned land if owners asked the government to have them removed. Squatters on unoccupied land were allowed to claim up to 320 acres if they registered their claims with a local land office by the end of 1807: ^[1]

That any person or persons who, before the passing of this act, had taken possession of, occupied, or made a settlement on any lands ceded or secured to the United States... and who at the time of passing this act does or do actually inhabit and reside on such lands, may, at any time prior to the first day of January next, apply to the proper register or recorder...such applicant or applicants to remin on such tract or tracts of land, not exceeding three hundred and twenty acres for each applicant, as tenants at will, on such terms and conditions as shall prevent any waste or damages on such lands...^[1]

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Illinois Preemtion Act of 1813

This Act granted preemption rights to Illinois settlers, and was the first which gave "blanket preemption rights" to squatters in a specific territory. The House Committee on Public Lands opposed granting these rights to squatters, because the Committee believe that the law would encourage squatting, rather than the establishment of legal claims granted by Congress:^[1]

That every person, or legal representative of every person, who has actually inhabited and cultivated a tract of land lying in either of the districts established for the sale of public lands, in the Illinois territory, which tract is not rightfully claimed by any other person and who shall not have removed from said territory; every such person and his legal representatives shall be entitled to a preference in becoming the purchaser from the United States of such tract of land at private sale... ^[1]

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Land Act of 1820

This Act, also referred to as the 1820 Sale Act, reduced the price of federal land in the Northwest Territory and Missouri Territory to $1.25 acre. Squatters could purchase a minimum purchase of 80 acres with a $100 down payment. The government lowered the purchase price if squatters had made land improvements, including building homes, fences or mills. This Act eliminated the practice of purchase of public land on credit:^[1]

That from and after the first day of July next [1820] , all the public lands of the United States, the sale of which is, or may be authorized by law, shall when offered at public sale, to the highest bidder, be offered in half quarter sections [80 acres] ; and when offered at private sale, may be purchased, at the option of the purchaser, either in entire sections [640 acres] , half sections [320 acres] , quarter sections [160 acres] , or half quarter sections [80 acres] ... ^[1]

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1840-1899

The acts passed in this part of the 19th century encouraged settlers to move farther west, refined the requirements for land titling, and, in some acts, expanded acreage that settlers could claim. Most of these acts were established during John Wesley Powell's life.

 
Preemption Act of 1841

After the passage of this Act, individuals could settle on and cultivate up to 160 acres at a cost of $1.25 per acre. The Act was repealed in 1891:^[1]

And be it further enacted, that from and after the passage of this act, every person being the head of a family, or widow, or single man, over the age of twenty-one years, and being a citizen of the United States, or having filed his declaration of intention to become a citizen as required by the naturalization laws, who since the first day of June A.D. eighteen hundred and forty, has made or shall hereafter make a settlement in person on the public lands... is hereby, authorized to enter with the register of the land office for the district in which such land may lie, by legal subdivisions, any number of acres not exceeding one hundred and sixty, or a quarter section of land, to include the residence of such claimant, upon paying to the United States the minimum price of such land...^[1]

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Oregon Donation Land Claim Act of 1850

The Act established public land division into grid-square pattern on rural lands in the Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue valleys that still exists. White male citizens and their wives could each purchase 320 acres and those arriving after 1850 could buy 160 acres. To obtain legal title claimants had to reside and make improvements on the land for four years.^[1]

Section 4 of the Law outlined the requirements for eligibility:

granted to every white settler or occupant of the public lands, American half-breed Indians included, above the age of 18 years, being a citizen of the United States, or having made a declaration according to law of his intention to become a citizen.^[1]

The Law benefited incoming whites while removing Indians from their land. Territorial Delegate Samuel Thurston told Congress that extinguishing Indian title was the "first prerequisite step" to settling Oregon's land question. Before this law was passed, Congress passed a law authorizing land commissioners to negotiate treaties to extinguish Indian land titles, to remove tribes and to "leave the whole of the most desirable portion open to white settlers."^[1]

The Law explicitly excluded African Americans and Hawaiians. It validated white settler claims in the Willamette Valley and attracted settlers to the Umpqua and Rogue valleys.

In the Willamette Valley, Kalapuya bands had suffered catastrophic losses from seasonal malaria outbreaks in the early 1830s, but numerous Indian bands in the Rogue Valley resisted theincursions of whites, especially miners, in the 1850s. This created a "race war" in 1852 and 1853, with white volunteer forces driving Indians from their traditional hunting and gathering grounds. Regular U.S. Army troops eventually removed most of the surviving bands to a newly established coastal reservation.^[1]

By the time the law expired in 1855, approximately 30,000 white immigrants had entered Oregon Territory, claiming 2.5 million acres primarily in the Cascade Mountains. In 1850 Oregon's population was 11,873, but by 1860 it was nearly 60,000. The Act expired on December 1, 1855.^[1],[2]

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Bounty Land Act of 1855

The Bounty Land Act of 1855 entitled U.S. military veterans or their survivors to receive a redeemable certificate for 160 acres of federally owned land. The Act extended benefits to smaller land acts passed between 1847 and 1854. The certificate could be sold or transferred to another individual who could then obtain the land under the same conditions:^[1]

That each of the surviving commissioned and non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates, whether of regulars, volunteers, rangers, or militia, who were regularly mustered into the service of the United States, and every officer, commissioned and non-commissioned seaman, ordinary seaman, flotilla-man, marine, clerk, and landsman in the navy, in any of the wars in which this country has been engaged since seventeen hundred and ninety, and each of the survivors of the militia, or volunteers, or State troops of any State or Territory, called into military service, and regularly mustered therein, and whose services have been paid by the United States, shall be entitled to receive a certificate or warrant from the Department of the Interior for one hundred and sixty acres of land...^[1]

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This is considered one of the United States' most important pieces of legislation because it led to Western expansion and allowed citizens of all walks of life, except Indians to own land. Former slaves, women and immigrants could become landowners.^[1]

During a February 1861 speech in Ohio, Lincoln said the act was "worthy of consideration, and that the wild lands of the country should be distributed so that every man should have the means and opportunity of benefiting his condition."^[1]

In a July 4, 1861 speech, President Abraham Lincoln told the nation the purpose of America's government was

to elevate the condition of men, to lift artificial burdens from all shoulders and to give everyone an unfettered start and a fair chance in the race of life. ^[1]

He signed the Homestead Act on May 20, 1862.^[1]

The Act granted Americans 160-acre plots of public land for the price a small filing fee. To make a claim, homesteaders paid a filing fee of about $18 to make a temporary claim on the land, $2 for commission to the land agent and an additional $6 final payment to receive an official patent on the land. Land titles could also be purchased from the government for $1.25 per acre following six months of proven residency.^[1]

The Homestead Act resulted in 10% of U.S. land, 270 million acres, to be claimed and settled. Because land in the western territory was open to all U.S. citizens, or those who intended to become citizens, 1.6 million deeds in 30 states were officially obtained. Most claims were made in Montana, North Dakota, Colorado and Nebraska where Indians were forced from their lands and onto reservations to make way for homesteaders. ^[1]

Additional requirements included five years of continuous residence on the land, building a home on the land, farming the land and making improvements. Homesteaders also had to be the head of a household or 21 years of age or older and certify that they had never been enemies of the federal government. They needed two friends or neighbors or friends to verify that they had fulfilled these requirements. Union soldiers could remove Civil War service time from the residency requirement.^[1]

Parts of the Act were ambiguous, requiring congressional modification. Some of the land ended up in the hands of speculators, cattlemen, miners, lumbermen, and railroads.^[1]

Homesteading ended with the Taylor Grazing Act, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934. That Act regulated grazing on federal public lands and authorized the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to apportion grazing districts.^[1]

In 1976, the Homestead Act was repealed with the passage of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, which stated "public lands be retained in Federal ownership." The Act authorized the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to manage federal lands. Homesteading was still allowed in Alaska until 1986.^[1]

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Morrill Act of 1862

The Morrill Act allowed new western states to establish colleges. By the 1860s, higher education was more accessible. Many politicians and educators wanted young Americans to have the opportunity to participate in advanced education opportunities.[1]

The states were required to sell the land. The proceeds had to be used to establish colleges in engineering, agriculture and military science. Over seventy land grant colleges were established under the original Morrill Act. Another 1890 act in 1890 extended the land grant provisions to sixteen southern states.^[1]

Started as agricultural and technical schools, many colleges grew into large public universities, providing education for millions of Americans who otherwise might not have been able to afford college.^[1]

An Act donating Public Lands to the several States and Territories which may provide Colleges for the Benefit of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there be granted to the several States, for the purposes hereinafter mentioned, an amount of public land, to be apportioned to each State a quantity equal to thirty thousand acres for each senator and representative in Congress to which the States are respectively entitled by the apportionment under the census of eighteen hundred and sixty: Provided, That no mineral lands shall be selected or purchased under the provisions of this act.^[2]

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the land aforesaid, after being surveyed, shall be apportioned to the several States in sections or subdivisions of sections, not less than one quarter of a section; and whenever there are public lands in a State subject to sale at private entry at one dollar and twenty five cents per acre, the quantity to which said State shall be entitled shall be selected from such lands within the limits of such State, and the Secretary of the Interior is hereby directed to issue to each of the States in which there is not the quantity of public lands subject to sale at private entry at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, to which said State may be entitled under the provisions of this act, land scrip to the amount in acres for the deficiency of its distributive share: said scrip to be sold by said States and the proceeds thereof applied to the uses and purposes prescribed in this act, and for no other use or purpose whatsoever...^[2]

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That all moneys derived from the sale of the lands aforesaid by the States to which the lands are apportioned, and from the sale of land scrip hereinbefore provided for, shall be invested in stocks of the United States, or of the States, or some other safe stocks, yielding not less than five per centum upon the par value of the said stocks; and that the moneys so invested shall constitute a perpetual fund, the capital of which shall remain forever undiminished, (except so far as may be provided in section fifth of this act,) and the interest of which shall be inviolably appropriated, by each State which may take and claim the benefits of this act, to the endowment, support, and maintenance of at least one college where the leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the State may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life...
Sixth. No State while in a condition of rebellion or insurrection against the government of the United States shall be entitled to the benefit of this Act... ^[2]

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This Act was proposed by Representative George W. Julian a Republican from Indiana and opened up land settlement and farming by African Americans and white persons loyal to the Union. Forty-four million acres of public land in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi in 80 acre lots were provided to freedmen starting farms. [1]

This land was uncultivated swamp or forest. Because of cotton production, most of the ideal farm land was already occupied. Without the resources to travel long distances to stake a claim or to purchase livestock and tools, this Act wasn't very helpful.

By 1869, only 4,000 African American families had applied for land. The Act was an excellent example of Congress' habit of giving the appearance of an opportunity for freedmen which few of them could actually use. Most of the land was settled by whites working for the logging industry.[1]

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Timber Culture Act of 1873

The purpose of this Act was to provide settlers with public land deeds in return for growing trees to reshape the western environment. Due to legal loopholes most of the trees were never planted. Because of fraudulent claims the act was repealed less than twenty years later.^[1]

As immigrants moved west, the dry climate and treeless landscape of the prairie made farming difficult. Some naturalists believed that planting trees on the prairie would cause rainfall. They aregued that more trees would bring water to the dry soil to facilitate farming.^[1]

The Act provided each claimant with 160 acres at no cost in exchange for making land improvements. If a settler planted and nurtured tree growth on 40 of their 160 acres for 10 years, they could keep the land.^[1]

The Act was amended in 1874 to restrict claimants to those age of 21 and above and those with citizenship or those applying for citizenship. In 1878, the Act was amended, and the tree planting requirement was reduced from 40 acres to 10 acres. The amendment relaxed the schedule established in 1874 and made exceptions for trees that had been destroyed by harsh climate or grasshopper plagues. ^[1]

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Desert Land Act of 1877

This Act enabled any citizen or future citizens of requisite age to purchase

upon payment of 25 cents per acre-to file a declaration under oath with the register and the receiver of the land district in which any desert land is situated, that he intends to reclaim a tract of desert land not exceeding one section, by conducting water upon the same, within the period of three years thereafter, Provided however that the right to the use of water by the person so conducting the same, on or to any tract of desert land of six hundred and forty acres shall depend upon bona fide prior appropriation: and such right shall not exceed the amount of water actually appropriated, and necessarily used for the purpose of irrigation and reclamation: and all surplus water over and above such actual appropriation and use, together with the water of all, lakes, rivers and other sources of water supply upon the public lands and not navigable, shall remain and be held free for the appropriation and use of the public for irrigation, mining and manufacturing purposes subject to existing rights. ^[1]

Said declaration shall describe particularly said section of land if suryed, andif unsurveyed, shall describe the same as nearly as possible without a survey. At any time within the period of three years after filing said declaration, upon making satisfactory proof to the register and receiver of the reclamation of said tract of land in the manner aforesaid, and upon the payment to the receiver of the additional sum of one dollar per acre for a tract of land not exceeding six hundred and forty acres to any one person, a patent for the same shall be issued to him. Provided, that no person shall be permitted to enter more than one tract of land and not to exceed six hundred and forty acres which shall be in compact form. ^[1]

Section 2. That all lands exclusive of timber lands and mineral lands Desert lands dewhich will not, without irrigation, produce some agricultural crop, fined. shall be deemed desert lands, within the meaning of this act, which fact shall be ascertained by proof of two or more credible witnesses under oath, whose affidavits shall be filed in the land office in which said tract of land may be situated.^[1]

Section 3. That this act shall only apply to and take effect in the Localities in States of California, Oregon and Nevada, and the Territories of Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming Arizona, New Mexico and Dakota, and the determination of what may be considered desert land shall be subject to the decision and regulation of the Commissioner of the General Land Office.^[1]

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Land Revision Act of 1891

This Act repealed several land laws, and contained clauses to protect or preserve existing rights of settlers. Section 1 repealed the Timber Culture Act, 1873, and its amendments.
Section 2 reduced desert land entries to 320 acres and tightened irrigation requirements.
Section 3 recodified an 1873 amendment to the Homestead Act of 1862 that permitted settlers to donate portions of their tract to cemetaries or churches or grant rights of way to railroads without jeopardizing title to the claim.
Section 4 repealed the Preemption Act of 1841.^[1]

Sections 5 and 6 amended the Homestead Act of 1862, and extended from 6 to 14 months the time needed to commute a homestead claim into a preemption right under which the tract could be bought for $1.25 an acre from 6 months to 14 months.
Section 7 provided the correction of clerical errors by the Land Office.
Section 8 established statutes of limitations for actions by the government to vacate some titles to public lands.
Section 9 barred future sales of public lands except abandoned military reservations.
Section 10 provided that no Indian treaties or agreements were altered by this legislation.^[1]

Sections 11 through 23 covered settlements in Alaska Territory, mineral rights, grants of rights of way through public lands to canal or ditch irrigation companies, special provisions for the Dakota Central Railroad Company and settlers who made claims on the reservation of the Ossage Indian Tribe in Kansas.^[1]

Section 24 was also referred to as The Forest Reserve Act of 1891. It allowed the President to create forest reservations on public lands, which later were designated as National Forests. Using this new authority President Harrison established the first timber land reservation near Yellowstone National Park on March 30, 1891.^[1]

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This Act was sponsored by Sen. Joseph M. Carey, and provided for the transfer to western U.S. states desert lands on the condition that they be irrigated. Settlers were permitted to buy up to 160 acres of the land at 50 cents per acre plus the cost of water rights. The Act did not facilitate reclamation and settlement efforts.^[1]

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1900-1930

The acts passed in this new century expanded previous homestead acts, provided additional opportunities for settlers willing to homestead lands with few resources and on lands with resources that were sometimes retained in part by the federal government.

This Act allowed settlers in 37 western Nebraska counties known as the "Sandhills" to claim up to 640 acres. Kikaid believed that providing additional land in a harsh climate and low-quality soil would provide settlers a better chance of complying with governmental requirements and obtaining property title.^[1]

The Act's legal provisions were nearly identical to those of the Homestead Act of 1862. Lands that were deemed irrigable were exempted from the law since the government believed that settlers would willingly pay for them.^[1]

President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Kinkaid Act into law on April 28, 1904, and "Kinkaiders" began taking up claims in western Nebraska soon after. ^[1]

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Enlarged Homestead Act of 1909

This Act encouraged settlement of public land in western states with few resources:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Reresentatves of the United States of America That any person who is a qualified entryman under the homestead laws of the United States may enter, by legal subdivisions, under the provisions of this Act, in the States of Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, and the Territories of Arizona and New Mexico, three hundred and twenty acres, or less, of nonmineral, nonirrigable, unreserved and unappropriated surveyed public lands which do not contain merchantable timber, located in a reasonably compact body, and not over one and one-half miles in extreme length: Provded, That no lands shall be subject to entry under the provisions of this Act until such lands shall have been designated by the Secretary of the Interior as not being, in his opinion, susceptible of successful irrigation at a reasonable cost from any known source of water supply.^[1]

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Stock-Raising Homestead Act of 1916

This Act allowed ranchers to privatize lands they considered valueless except for grazing livestock and forage growth. Homesteaders obtained land surface ownership, but the federal government retained mineral rights.^[1]

Over 70 million acres of public lands were privatized under this Act, including 2,986,746 acres in Arizona. Most of this acreage was later developed for home sites and sold as smaller parcels.^[1]

Since the federal government retained the mineral rights, these lands were open to mineral entry even though the surface land was private. As a result, anyone has the right to enter these lands, prospect, file a mining claim, and then file a plan of operations to mine.^[1]

The Act was amended in 1993 to require surface owner notification before the land could be entered, but the landowner had no right to prevent entry or stop mining from taking place on the property. The Bureau of Land Management was charged with administering mining on these lands.^[1]

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History Resources

Denise Meeks, dmeeks@email.arizona.edu