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Our first stop this morning is the Homestead Museum in Beatrice. This museum is dedicated to the homestead process int he US that resulted in over 270 billion acres of government land (the government claimed over a billion acres of land) being given away. With the exception of Texas, Hawaii and most of the original 13 states, land in every state of the US was available for homesteading. The original Homestead Act allowed a family to claim 320 acres, and required them to build a house and develop some type of agricultural operation with five years of filing the original claim. When they had "proved up" their claim they could file for a patent that gave them title to the land.
It is an interesting question of why Texas was excluded from homesteading. Presumably, when Texas became part of the United States there was some agreement that land in Texas would not be owned by the United States but would remain the property of Texas and perhaps of private landowners of the time. This is different from the situation in other western states which became part of the US under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which recognized the ownership of land granted by the Spanish or Mexican government land grants, but did not recognize any other claim to lands, so all the lands covered by the treaty became part of US government land.
The Homestead Museum has many interesting artifacts illustrating the attempts of the homesteaders to develop their land, and survive on it. A substantial percentage of the homesteaders were unsuccessful in finally getting a patent for their land - some probably tried but failed, some probably tried but could not satisfy the requirement of the law, some probably just gave up, and some moved on as the western expansion continued.
The museum contains everything from old time fire fighting equipment, to farm implements, to ephemera from local citizens. It just shows what you can do if instead of a small closet or large basement, you have a very large barn to accumulate stuff from your own life but also from the lives of all of your neighbors. Every neighborhood should have such a facility - it is fascinating.
We leave the Homestead Museum and proceed southeasterly into Kansas. Our
first stop is Marshall's Ferry in Marysville where a replica of a rope ferry which
was originally located in this area has been constructed. Located on
one of the three rivers that immigrants had to cross in this area, the
Big Blue River, .rope ferry was connected to a pulley along a rope
stretched from one bank to the other. The large wheel in the center of
the ferry allowed the rope to be adjusted so that the current and
tension on the rope would work in concert to guide the boat from one
side of the river to the other. Sing the ferry was an expense that
many of the travelers could not afford - at this site and others along
the various routes west. Many people tried to cross without resorting
to the ferry that was available, and many lives were lost in the process. Grave sites along river crossings attest to the difficulty in
getting a wagon, it load, and the animals and people across the river
safely.
Scott's Spring, in Westmoreland, is out next stop. This was a favorite rest stop for the travelers, and the roadside stop has a nice replica of a covered wagon and Ox and an inventory of supplies necessary for a family of four - 2400 pounds to pack into the wagon to get to Oregon.
Our next stop is in St. Marys, Kansas, at what is called the Indian Pay
Station Historic Site and Monument. Another memorial to the long and
arduous between the immigrants from Europe (the politically correct
designation now is "Euro-Americans") and the Native Americans as the
westward expansion of the United States continued. This particular site
involved the Potawatomi Indians who had been moved to this area from
their original homelands in the the upper Midwest area and given land in
Kansas. As frequently happened it was not too long before the land
they were on in Kansas desired by the Euro-Americans headed west, so the
Potawatomi were offered payment for their lands in Kansas if they would
agree to move. The Indian agency was set up in the building which now
houses the museum and payment was made to the Indians who agreed to
move. We arrived at the museum at the normal closing time, but a woman
was working in the garden an agreed to show us around. It turned out
that she is the chief cook and bottle washer of the museum so we got an
depth look at the Pay Station - a rather rustic stone building - and
the adjacent barn in which she, and a couple of her predecessors, have
accumulated a large amount of material from the local community.
We proceed from here to Topeka for the night.
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