Homestead National Historical Park | |
Former U.S. National Monument | |
Location | Gage County, Nebraska, United States |
---|---|
Nearest city | Beatrice, Nebraska |
Coordinates | 40°17′07″N 96°49′19″W / 40.28528°N 96.82194°W |
Area | 211 acres (85 ha)[2] |
Visitation | 123,400 (2017)[3] |
Website | www |
NRHP reference No. | 66000115[1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
Designated NHP | January 13, 2021 |
Designated NMON | March 19, 1936 |
Homestead National Historical Park, a unit of the National Park System known as the Homestead National Monument of America prior to 2021, commemorates passage of the Homestead Act of 1862, which allowed any qualified person to claim up to 160 acres (0.65 km2) of federally owned land in exchange for five years of residence and the cultivation and improvement of the property. The Act eventually transferred 270,000,000 acres (1,100,000 km2) from public to private ownership.
The park is five miles (8 km) west of Beatrice, Nebraska, on a site that includes some of the first acres successfully claimed under the Homestead Act. The national monument was first included in the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.[1]