Is there a more iconic image of the American Frontier
than that of the Homesteader?
We revere that rugged individualist of the 1870’s or
‘80’s, a farmer - a young man usually - on his small farm, his team with the
recently invented modern farm implements, a few cows and calves, some pigs,
chickens and maybe geese or ducks. His pretty, hard-working young wife and her
growing brood add to that iconic image.
We attribute much of the growth of our portion of the
Frontier to the Homestead Act and how it provided free land for anyone willing
to live and work on that land for five years. What a story!
But was it that simple? You know the answer, “It never
is.”
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| Nils Nilsson or Nels Nelson, Verona area pioneer and on of four homesteaders studied in Ken Nelson's research. |
The idea of the homestead, a small farm owned and
supporting a small family was not the universal concept for western development
in the 1850’s. The alternative was the model of the large plantation owned by a
gentleman in the mode of the Southern Gentry with slave labor.
Early advocates of the homestead were the “free soilers” who even had a short-lived, single-issue political party called the Free Soil Party centered in New York State. They saw the homestead in the west as a mechanism to halt the spread of slavery into the new states in the west. And although the 1860 act made it through congress there was still strong opposition by Southern Congressmen. Buchanan feared that such a divisive act would further drive the south toward secession.
But secede they did and opposition to the Homestead Act
“went south.” The Homestead Act of 1862 was passed by the remaining congressmen
from the North and President Lincoln signed it on May 20, 1862.
Then just six weeks later, President Lincoln signed the
Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 after six years of heated discussion.
These two acts, arguably the two largest “stimulation
packages” of the 19th Century were enacted in the midst of the
nation’s largest internal crisis, The Civil War.
These two acts implement a huge policy decision that the
country would incentivize and subsidize not just western development, but rapid
western development.
And so, just eight years later, Luther French filed for
his homestead in Section 2, Township 7, Range 5 from the 6th
Principle Meridian and little more than one year later the Burlington and
Missouri River Railroad laid tracks through that homestead sparking growth in a
small community that became Sutton.
How long would it have taken for a town to start in
northeast Clay County without both of
these acts signed into law by President Lincoln in the spring of 1862? It is
hard to imagine how it would have happened.
Part of the subsidies of the Railroad Act was the
granting by the U. S. government of ten square miles of land for each mile of
track laid. In each township along the railroad including that around Sutton
the railroad received the odd numbered sections and the even numbered sections
were designated for homesteads, except for sections 16 and 36 in each township
were designated as School Land. This wasn’t land where schools were to be built
but was land to be sold with the proceeds going to support public schools.
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| Carl Johan Johannesson or Charley Johnson, homesteader northwest of Sutton. |
Talk about infrastructure planning. The national policy
was that the federal government would encourage development of the frontier.
Some pretty smart folks on congressional staffs in the midst of the civil war crafted
a coordinate set of laws that provided for land management, transportation,
communication, population and education over a huge chunk of the country.
President Kennedy’s policy decision to go to the moon in a decade pales by
comparison.
The State of Nebraska has always been closely linked to
the Homestead Act. The Homestead National Monument honoring the very first
homestead is in Gage County about four miles west of Beatrice on state highway
4. How did that happen?
There are a few versions to this story. The Homestead Act
went into effect on the first of January, 1863. Daniel Freeman was (supposedly)
a scout in the Union Army who had to return to St. Louis (supposedly) on
January 1st. He convinced someone to open the land office just after
midnight so he could file his claim and hit the road. Everyone else waited for
normal business hours and later, when the claims were sorted, Mr. Freeman’s
Gage County claim appeared on top.
The plan to create a National Homestead Monument at the
site of Daniel Freeman’s homestead was not a popular idea in Gage County. Mr.
Freeman had stirred up a controversy in 1899 when he took exception to the
local rural school teacher’s classes in religious instruction including Bible
studies, prayers and hymns. She maintained that she had the permission of the
school board so Mr. Freeman sued the school board of Freeman School, likely
named for another Mr. Freeman.
The Gage County District Court ruled in the school
board’s favor; Daniel Freeman appealed to the Nebraska Supreme Court which
overturned the district court in 1902 citing the separation of church and state
provisions in the Nebraska State Constitution.
The renovated Freeman School is near the Homestead
National Monument, both major Gage County attractions today.
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| This 1962 postage stamp commemorated the centennial of the Homestead Act |
So what did it take for Mr. Freeman and the other
homestead applicants to get possession of that farm? Was it really just a
matter of living on the place for five years and it was all yours?
As I said earlier, it was not so simple.
Thanks to Ken Nelson of Manassas, Virginia, one-time of
Clay Center and a cousin for a more thorough answer.
Ken has a keen interest, to say the least, in land
management policy and practices. He looked into the details of the full story
of what it took to apply for a homestead claim, meet all the requirements to
“prove up” the claim and to complete the necessary documentation to obtain full
ownership. He researched and compiled the documentation used by four of his
ancestors (three I share with him) to file and prove their claims near Sutton,
Saronville and Verona.
Luckily, I didn’t get him started on Swedish Land Reform
or we’d have been here all night.
Nels Nelson filed an Application for Entry of 80 acres in
Section 26 of Lewis Township about a mile from where Verona would later appear.
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| Nels Nelson's final official certificate in the series of required documents needed to secure his homestead. The detailed story of the process is located in the "PAGES" section of this blog. |
Adolph Aspegren’s homestead application was just west of Saronville in Section 2 of Lewis Township.
Andrew Israelson initially purchased a total of 320 acres
railroad land but in 1878 he filed for an 80 acre homestead in Section 6 of
Lewis Township about five miles west of Saronville.
Those policy makers in Washington seemed to have
anticipated potential criticism about fraud and abuse by incorporating a series
of limitations and documentation requirements.
An applicant had to 21 years of age, have never taken up
arms against the United States (Confederate veterans need not apply), own no
more than 320 acres (Andrew Israelson almost disqualified himself), etc. The
applicant had to live on the claim for five years making improvements then file
for a deed to title with accompanying documentation that he had met those
requirements, with witnesses and all.
Ken’s description of the homestead process is a 24 page document. Much as I’d like to share it with you today, Jarod does not do single-subject issues of Sutton Life Magazine. Ken and I will post a version of his research product on the Sutton Historical Society blog at suttonhistoricalsociety.blogspot.com
How successful was the Homestead program? It was successful
enough to expand upon. The Timber Culture Act of 1873 was authored by Senator
Phineas Hitchcock of Nebraska and allowed a second quarter to be added to a
homestead for the planting of 40 acres of trees. The first timber claim was filed on
the edge of Edgar by David Jones.
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| This stone monument commemorating the first registered claim under the Timber Culture Act of 1873 is located near Edgar, Nebraska. Photo is from the Clay County Atlas of 1963 compiled by Midwest Atlas Co., Fremont, Nebraska |
The Kinkaid Act in 1904 allowed for 640 acre homesteads
west of the 100th Meridian and other measures increased the size of
all homesteads.
The Homestead Act was repealed in 1976 with an extension for Alaska. The last homestead was an 80 acre claim in southeastern Alaska in 1988.
The Homestead Act was repealed in 1976 with an extension for Alaska. The last homestead was an 80 acre claim in southeastern Alaska in 1988.
Were there problems? Of course. The drafters of the legislation stipulated that a dwelling of at least 12 X 14 would be built. They neglected to define the units of measurement opening the doors from some to claim that their 12 inch by 14 inch structure met that requirement. Phony claimants could be hired and people bought abandoned property. Land Offices were underfunded and understaffed, wages were low making enforcement tough and investigators were targets for bribery. Conditions were harsh where most homesteads were filed and only about 40% were eventually proved up.
But still, 1.6 million applications were processed for more than 270 million acres or about one tenth of the country.
The Homestead Act had a great impact on the frontier but
nowhere greater than in the area around Sutton.
Check out the suttonhistoricalsociety.blogspot.com (under PAGES) for a
more detailed discussion on just what it took to secure a homestead in Clay
County.
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