29 апр 1862 г. - Homestead Act divided 2.5 million acres into sections or homesteads of 160 acres. People could
now just claim 160 acres of land. The only requirement on their part was that they paid a small
administration charge and built a house and lived on the land for at least 5 years. Nearly
470,000 homesteaders apply for homesteads in the next eighteen years.