Homesteader
On May 20, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act. This gave adults 160 acres (0.65 km2) of land if they filed paperwork and paid a small fee. The homesteader was required to build a 12x14 dwelling and farm the land or plant trees. Osage Orange trees became very popular. Some homesteaders noted that the government did not mention that the dwelling had to be 12x14 feet. It was reported that some built a 12x14 inch "dwelling" to fulfill this requirement.
Although the land was cheap or free, many homesteaders did not last five years due to blizzards, drought, grasshoppers, disease, and loneliness on the open prairies. January 1, 1863, was the day the Homestead Act went into effect. Freeman was supposedly a scouter for the Union Army and told someone that he was leaving for St. Louis the morning of January 1, 1863, for military duty. Freeman convinced someone to open the land office just after midnight so he could be the first person to file his claim. Some dispute whether Freeman's story of having to go to St. Louis was true or whether he just wanted to be the first to file under this act.
When five years was up, the homesteader had to have two or three witnesses sign a document called "Proof Required Under Homestead Acts May 20, 1862 . . . " Daniel Freeman had his neighbors, Joseph Graff and Samuel Kilpatrick, sign this first document.
A new Homestead Heritage Center was dedicated in May 2007. The building's roof was inspired by the small plows homesteaders used to break soil.
Read more about this topic: Daniel Freeman