free land, in their own words

They were promised free land — and they tried to outlast the prairie.

Diary-driven accounts of the families who answered the Homestead Act, staked a claim on the open plains, and built a house out of dirt. Every entry follows one claim from the day it was filed through the first winter to the five-year reckoning: who proved up, who went bust, and who was dusted out and driven off the land they had broken.

15 diaries Updated Jun 1, 2026
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