The Homestead Act of 1862 was passed on May 20 that same year. The act encouraged settlement of the western territories. Families were awarded 160 acres of public lands for a small filing fee and continuous occupancy before receiving title to their land.
The act was repealed in 1976. It is estimated that 4 million people were awarded land under the Homestead Act. My great-grandfather was one of those homesteaders and that makes me and millions of other Americans descendants of a homestead family.
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