May 20

1805  The Viceroy of Mexico ordered to compile all information concerning the true boundary between Texas and Louisiana.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1862  Congress passed the Homestead Act.

As surprising as it is now to think of it, the Homestead Act remained in force until 1932 in the lower 48.  The last patents were taken out under the various acts in the 1950s, although entries could still be made in Alaska up until some date in the 1950s.  Homesteading remained quite active in the 1919 to 1932 period, as there were efforts to encourage veterans to homestead following World War One, and there was a lot of desperate homesteading in the 1929 to 1932 time frame.  A Wyoming Supreme Court decisions on a land contest from that period actually noted that no decision could be reached, as homesteading was carving up the contested lands so fast that the decision would be obsolete by the time it was rendered.  The repeal of the act in 1932 was followed by  the failure of many of the late smaller homesteads, and a reversal of the trend.  The Federal Government reacquired many of the late homesteads by default, and actually purchased a large number of them in the Thunder Basin region of Wyoming, as it was so clear that they would fail in the droughts of the 30s.

Following up a bit, it's interesting to note that there were more homesteads taken out under the various Homestead Acts in the 20th Century than there were in 19th.  The 1914 to 1919 period saw a huge boom in homesteading.

One of the most interesting things about the act was said to me by the grandson of Russian immigrants who had homesteaded outside of Cheyenne, WY, that simply being that "it was a good deal for poor people".  I suppose that is true.

How many folks here know of a homesteading ancestor in their family?

1865  Sioux and Cheyenne attacked Three Crossings, Wyoming, which resulted in the death of one of the attacking warriors.

1874 San Francisco based Levi Strauss begian marketing blue jeans with copper rivets.

1879   Peder Bergersan of Cheyenne issued a patent for an improvement in magazine fire-arms.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1886  The Lusk Herald starts publication.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1919  Bus service initiated in Casper.

1936  These photographs of the Twin Lakes Dam area taken.

1938  First city officials elected in La Grange Wyoming.

1947  Earl C. Beeler of Baggs issued a patent for a Sickler Grinder.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1947  USS Casper sold.

1956  Northwest Community College dedicated in Powell.