Beatrice, Nebraska Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Homestead Act=== In 1862, the U.S. Congress passed the [[Homestead Act of 1862|Homestead Act]], which allowed settlers to claim {{Convert|160|acre}} of government land for a nominal fee. The law went into effect on January 1, 1863. Just after midnight on that day, [[Daniel Freeman (homesteader)|Daniel Freeman]] persuaded a clerk to open the local Land Office so that he could file a claim for a homestead located {{Convert|4|mi|sigfig=1}} west of Beatrice. His is regarded as the first of the 417 applications filed that day.<ref name=nythomestead/><ref name=archives/> In 1936, Congress created [[Homestead National Monument of America]] on the site of Freeman's claim.<ref name=npshomestead/> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page