The act opened up millions of acres of land for settlement in the Midwest and Great Plains region.

A large portion of this country, especially west of the Mississippi River, was built through the Homestead Act of 1862, ...

President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act on May 20, 1862. The act provided settlers with 160 acres of surveyed public land after payment of a filing fee and five years of continuous ...

At the end of this year in which election results reinserted immigration into the political conversation, remember that 2012 is the 150th anniversary of "the first comprehensive immigration law." This ...

Tucked in the back of pine and aspen forests in Estes Park, Colorado, is Homestead Meadows — a ghost town from the 1800s. Source: Uncover Colorado The deserted town is the result of the Homestead Act ...

With real estate prices going up and up these days, it is difficult to imagine a time when oceanfront or riverfront property was free. In 1862, Congress passed a Homestead Act which offered as many as ...

May 20, 1862 - President Lincoln signs the Homestead Act ...