If you fly over the Great Plains today, giant squares of land immediately stand out. Many of these are the 160-acre plots forged out of the prairie by 19th-century pioneers, a legacy of the Homestead Act of 1862.

Aerial America

Smithsonian Channel

The Law Behind the Great Plains' Giant Square Plots

MAY 11, 20201 MIN
Aerial America

The Law Behind the Great Plains' Giant Square Plots

MAY 11, 20201 MIN

Description

If you fly over the Great Plains today, giant squares of land immediately stand out. Many of these are the 160-acre plots forged out of the prairie by 19th-century pioneers, a legacy of the Homestead Act of 1862.