Four miles northwest of Beatrice on SR 4 following signs, Homestead National Monument of America was one of the first quarter sections of land to be claimed under the Homestead Act of 1862. The act provided a process by which citizens (or intended citizens) could acquire their own homestead. After filing an application, prospective landowners could claim 160 acres (a quarter of a square mile) of surveyed federal land. If the homesteader lived on the land for the next 5 years, built a dwelling and cultivated crops, he could file the necessary paperwork and be granted ownership of the land. Learn More...