The original caption for this photograph reads: “The Covered Wagon of the Great Western Migration. 1886 in Loup Valley, Nebr.” A family poses with the wagon in which they live and travel daily during their pursuit of a homestead.
The image shows a family pausing to pose for a picture in Loup Valley, Nebraska, on their journey to a homestead. The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed a citizen to claim up to 160 acres of western lands in exchange for farming and improving that land.
Text adapted from “The Homestead Act of 1862” in the October 1997 National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) publication Social Education, which includes background information and teaching suggestions about The Homestead Act.
