Thursday; May 20
On May 20, 1862 President Abraham Lincoln singed the U. S. Homestead Act into law. The Act was designed to help redistribute the population from the east coast through the Midwest, Great Plains and West. In essence, for a small filing fee, individuals and heads-of-households could be given 160 acres of public land free of charge. However, there were a few conditions including that the recipients had to have lived on the land and farmed it for five years. While this was a substantial investment in time and effort, the payoff was a quarter section of land free and clear. In the next four decades over 80 million acres were claimed by 600,000 farmers – and westward expansion was well on its way. When I think about homesteading, I am reminded of what God has done for us. The Supreme Being has given us life and opportunity – all we have to do is invest ourselves in it. He has bestowed upon us the talents, circumstances and blessings to be an influence on the world in His name. He h