Investigating land claims in 1900

Investigating land claims in 1900

There were a variety of programs that distributed government land to the early settlers on the Plains. The Homestead Act was the best-known, and allowed any head of a family to acquire 160 acres of land by living on it and improving it. A settler could also purchase the land, usually for $1.25 per acre, under what was called the Preemption Act. They still had to live on the land, but received the title to the land in a shorter period of time. An…