Historical Significance:

The Homestead Act of 1862 was one of the most significant and enduring events in the westward expansion of the United States. By granting 160 acres of free land to claimants, it allowed nearly any man or woman a "fair chance." Homestead National Monument of America, located in Southeast Nebraska, commemorates this Act and the far-reaching effects it had upon the landscape and people.

"Even before there was a Homestead National Monument of America the Daughters of the American Revolution had a hand in preserving the story of homesteading. In 1925 after the first attempt at creating a national monument failed the DAR placed a stone monument on Daniel Freeman’s plot of land commemorating it as the first homestead filed under the Homestead Act of 1862. Over the last ten years the DAR has provided funding for a variety of projects, including digitizing and transcribing oral histories that Homestead National Monument of America collected over the years." (Source: NPS)

Historic Marker:

• Marker Organization: Elizabeth Montague Chapter, NSDAR
• Marker Date: 1925
• Marker Text: This stone from the old state capital at Lincoln, Nebraska marks the site of the first registered homestead of the United States.