Explore 8 Midwest National Monuments

Daniel Freeman is credited with being the first American to get his 160 acres under the Homestead Act of 1862. Learn about the challenges of homesteading and its impact on Native Americans at this Beatrice, Nebraska, monument's cabin, museum and old schoolhouse. Walk a trail through 1 acre of prairie land. The path is exactly the width of the plows originally used to break up the land, giving a sense of how difficult it must have been for homesteaders to break the acres. Freeman's grave, and that of his wife, is also on the site (402/223-3514; nps.gov/home)

Homestead National Monument of America