The Homestead Act of 1862 The Homestead Act of 1862 forever
changed the landscape, culture, and history of the American
West. Passage of the act meant that anyone over the age of 21,
including women and former slaves, could apply for 160 acres of
land. In order to “prove up,” or secure ownership of the land,
the applicant had to build a house, grow crops, make
improvements to the land and live on it for five years. Ten
percent of the land mass of the United States (270 million
acres) was transferred into private ownership through
homesteading, and ruins of stone and wood dot the backcountry
landscape as testimony to the efforts of these homesteaders.
They faced many hardships - just as many claims failed as
succeeded. Meanwhile, those accustomed to unfettered use of the
land must have cringed as settlement by these newcomers
expanded. Descendants of homesteaders today are estimated at
about 93 million Americans, with many thousands still living on
farms claimed by their ancestors during the homestead era. His