Capital Homesteading

Capital Homesteading was a U.S. government program in the 19th century that encouraged settlement of western lands by granting land to individuals who agreed to develop and improve it. Instead of providing free land upfront, settlers could claim a tract and, by building a home and farming the land over several years, they gained ownership. This approach promoted organized settlement and economic growth in frontier regions, incentivizing hard work and land development to transform unsettled territories into productive communities.