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The Story of Rural Health

Enlarged Homestead Act increases the size of allowable homesteads.

Date: 1909

The Story of Rural Health
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The Act is a response to the dryland farming movement, and increases the size of allowable homesteads to 320 acres in parts of Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Arizona, and Wyoming. Land that was previously only used for ranching becomes available for farming, increasing the number of owners (because farms are generally smaller than ranches), and increasing tax revenues. New farming techniques support farming on areas previously thought unsuitable for farming. In particular, deep plowing, compacting, summer fallowing, and seeding drought-resistant crops begin to shift how farming can happen on dry lands. This will lead to a land rush in these areas.