What is the Homestead Act?

Signed into law in May 1862, the Homestead Act opened up settlement in the western United States, allowing any American, including freed slaves, to put in a claim for up to 160 free acres of federal land. By the end of the Civil War, 15,000 homestead claims had been established, and more followed in the postwar years. read more

The Homestead Act of 1862 provided that any adult citizen (or person intending to become a citizen) who headed a family could qualify for a grant of 160 acres of public land by paying a small registration fee and living on the land continuously for five years. read more

An amendment to the Homestead Act of 1862, the Enlarged Homestead Act, was passed in 1909 and doubled the allotted acreage from 160 to 320 acres. Another amended act, the national Stock-Raising Homestead Act, was passed in 1916 and again increased the land involved, this time to 640 acres. read more

Exemption amounts vary greatly from state to state. New Jersey, for example, has no homestead exemption. In Massachusetts, the homestead exemption is $500,000. Florida's exemption, on the other hand, has no maximum dollar amount. In Florida, exemption is allowed as long as the property is no more than half an acre in a city or 160 acres elsewhere. read more