Beatrice, NE
Homestead National Monument of America

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This stone from the old State Capitol at Lincoln Nebraska
marks the site of the first registered homestead
of the United States.


(Click here for printable picture file.)

The Palmer-Epard - Homestead Cabin 1867- George. Washington Palmer built this cabin with the help of neighbors on a prairie homestead 14 miles northeast of here. The Palmers lived in the cabin 28 years. 1896 - Lawrence Epard bought the Palmer farm, and the cabin housed his family for 40 years. Epard covered the exterior with siding and the interior with plaster. 1936 - For 14 years the aging Palmer-Epard cabin served as a storage building for corn and grain. 1950 - J. B: Epard donated the cabin to the National Park Service, and with the help of local citizens it was moved to Homestead National Monument and restored. Today it commemorates homestead life in America.

In this prairie schoolhouse a new generation of homesteaders studied arithmetic, handwriting, geography, and reading. On weekends and evenings their parents came for public meetings, socials, debates, weddings, and church services. School District No. 21 built the Freeman School with local bricks in 1872. Children of pioneer homesteaders Daniel and Agnes Freeman attended here. It remains one of the oldest one-room Nebraska schools in existence. Today it is part of Homestead National Monument. The National Park Service has restored and furnished the building to resemble its appearance in the 1880's.

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