Fur trappers and traders made their mark
Proving Her Claim is set in Rendezvous, Dakota Territory. According to the story, the town was founded during those halcyon days when French Canadian and Scots fur trappers were the only white men in this new wilderness. The town was named for the rendezvous — the annual gatherings where fur trappers and traders would meet to celebrate […]
What does “proving a claim” mean?
Recently someone asked me about the origins of the term “proving a claim.” It’s a good question, and not a term that we use much today. History geek activatedThe Homestead Act in 1862 opened up 270 million acres of land to homesteaders. It specified that American citizens who were 21 and the head of a household could […]
The congressmen laughed
The Homestead Act of 1862 was, no pun intended, landmark legislation that changed the course of our nation. Professor Hannah Haksgaard, a Property and Family Law professor at the University of South Dakota, has researched and written about the impact of the Homestead Act. One of her white papers, Including Unmarried Women in the Homestead Act of 1862, […]
Little soddy on the prairie
In her letter to her mother, Anna describes her new home: My home is what they call a “soddy.” It is small, about the same size as your dining room and kitchen, Mamma. Most of the homesteaders live in sod homes like mine. There are few trees on the prairie, so we make do. The sod […]