SD Agricultural Heritage Museum

HOMESTEADING

People who came to South Dakota from other places were called homesteaders. Homesteaders

build farms and homes on land they called a homestead. The land the homesteaders were claiming was

became available because of the Homestead Act. This law made by

the US Congress stated that anyone who is 21 years old or older

could come west and get 160 acres of land. In order to own the land

a person needs to pay a small filing fee, live on the land for 5 years,

have a permanent structure that is at least 8’ X 10’, and make

improvements to the land. Some of the ways homesteaders could

make improvements were farming, ranching, planting trees, or creating

ways to irrigate the land. The homesteaders came not only because of

the free land, but also for gold, adventure, and many opportunities to

make a better life for themselves and their families.

Take a minute and imagine you and your family are living in Indiana in 1880. You are thinking about

coming west to Dakota Territory where there is lots of land to “claim.” You make your plans to come to the

vast open, treeless prairies. Your claim is 10 miles away from town; your nearest neighbor lives 5 miles

away. There are three things that you will immediately need – shelter, food, and water. Where are you

going to find these things?

Shelter on the prairies can be found in

several forms. Sod houses, also known as

“soddies”, dugouts,

or claim-shanties. A sod house is built from

bricks cut from the ground; made of dirt

and grass roots. Dugouts are houses or

barns that are caves dug from the side of a

hill. A claim-shanty is built of lumber. Log cabins were not common homestead houses. They were found

only where there were trees -- in the Black Hills or along rivers or lakes. Shelter includes keeping warn and

dry. If you look closely at the image of the claim-shanty there are cracks and holes. How do you think the

homesteaders kept warm and dry?

Look at this photo of the small black, cast iron stove, soapstone foot warmers, and a bucket of hay.

You are living on the the treeless prairie, so there are no trees to chop into firewood. What would the

homesteaders use to make a fire in their stove? Coal, shipped in by train and wagon, grass or hay twists

made by the homesteaders, or cow chips collected from the prairie by the homesteaders were the three most

commonly used fuels. Other ways to stay warm are snuggling under the buffalo hide robes or a quilt or

heating the soap stone foot warmers and resting your feet on them. Do you see the foot warmers?

In order to survive the homesteaders also needed food and water. Where did they get most of their

food? Most homesteaders were farmers or ranchers so they were able to grow most of their own food.

They had gardens for vegetables; they had chickens for eggs and meat, and cows for milk, butter, and meat.

Homesteaders added to their diet by hunting wild game (deer, rabbits, ducks, geese) and fishing.

Can you think of anything that they may have needed to buy from the store?

Do you see anything at this table you would like to eat?

On the prairies water is a valuable product. Sometimes it was hard for homesteaders to get. Look at the
claim-shanty again. Do you see anything that tells you how homesteaders may have collected water?
Look by the corner of the house. Do you see a barrel? What were they collecting in the barrel? Rain water! Other places the homesteaders may have gotten water are lakes, rivers, streams, and wells with windmills. In the winter- time they may also have melted snow to get water.

These prairie people were working terribly hard just to survive. Do you think they did anything that was fun or entertaining? That is a fiddle or violin. The homesteaders loved to sing and play musical instruments. Have you ever read the Little House on the Prairie books? Do you remember Laura telling about Pa playing his fiddle and singing? People dancing? The homesteaders enjoyed reading newspapers, magazines, letters, and books. Books could be ordered from places like Sears and Roebuck or Montgomery Wards and magazines and newspapers were bought by subscription and sent by the mail service. Homesteaders also enjoyed visiting with neighbors, storytelling, playing games, and going to dances. They played games that you might know how to play – checkers, chess, card games, tag, baseball, and cat’s cradle. In addition, children had school to attend, homework to do, and do many of the same things that kid today do.