The Homestead Act
By: Toby and Jason
How the Homestead Act works
Any adult citizen, or intended citizen, who has never bore arms against the U.S. government could claim 160 acres of surveyed government land. Claimants were required to “improve” the plot by building a dwelling and cultivating the land. After 5 years on the land, the original filer was entitled to the property, free and clear, except for a small registration fee. The title could also be acquired after a 6-month residency and trivial improvements, provided the claimant paid the government $1.25 per acre.
Get your land while its still available
Where the Acts are valid and When it was Created
The Homestead acts are to become valid on May 20, 1862. The Homestead Act opened up settlement in the western United States, allowing any American, including freed slaves, to put in a claim for up to 160 free acres of federal land. All the states could be settled in the west except Texas. It guaranteed land to live on.
The Stampiants
You have to pay 1.25$ an acre and you had to improve the land to keep it and pay a small registration fee after 5 years of owning the property.
Opinions of people who have done it
According to Jerome (a previous slave) "I love that we get to get land so my family and I can stop sharecropping and own our own land and pass it down for generations to come."