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Elizabeth (Betty) Clouse-Smith was the last woman homesteader to successfully prove up land in her own name. She was among a group of people, including her son William J. Smith, who filed for homestead west of Big Delta, Alaska. On October 18, 1984, she received a patent for her 116-acre claim (47 ha). [47]
Black homesteaders established their claims under a number of different federal laws. The most significant of these was the Homestead Act of 1862, a landmark U.S. law that opened ownership of public lands to male citizens (who had never borne arms against the United States), widows, single women, and immigrants pledging to become citizens ...
The Southern Homestead Act of 1866 was a United States federal law intended to offer land to prospective farmers, white and black, in the South following the American Civil War. It was repealed in 1876 after mostly benefiting white recipients.
Homesteading has been pursued in various ways around the world and throughout different historical eras. It is typically distinguished from rural village or commune living by the isolation of the homestead (socially, physically, or both). Use of the term in the United States dates back to the Homestead Act (1862) and before.
A homestead is an isolated dwelling, especially a farmhouse, and adjacent outbuildings, [1] typically on a large agricultural holding such as a ranch or station. [ 2 ] In North America the word "homestead" historically referred to land claimed by a settler or squatter under the Homestead Acts (United States) or the Dominion Lands Act (Canada).
When black Americans finally gained citizenship in 1866, Congress passed the Southern Homestead Act. This Act was meant to avail land in states such as Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi to acquisition by the people, which included the black population. At the core of Act was the endeavor to give black Americans the ...
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The Homestead Act of 1862 was a major factor in opening the Great Plains to white settlement. Under the provisions of the Act, settlers could obtain title to a quarter-section (160 acres, or 65 ha) of land for a nominal fee, provided that they built a house, made certain improvements, farmed the land, and occupied the site for at least five years.