Brown Prairie Homestead

The Homestead Act of 1862 granted 160 acres of public land to any adult citizen as long as the individual lived on and improved the land for 5 years. The act really drove westward expansion, as an army of settlers headed for the western territories for a piece of America. Among them was Edgar I. Brown who settled on his 160 acres of prairie in the relatively new state of South Dakota in 1909. He and his wife created a modest homestead using the resources available to them. The Browns started with a sod house built into the side of a hill, although it looks like they added a wood frame room later on. So, on with the tour of a typical early 1900s prairie homestead. Prairie Homestead is located on SD Hwy 240 just north of the NE entrance to Badlands National Park. I toured the Homestead in Sept 2019.