{"id":36,"ordinal":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:33:17","content_modified":"2026-04-17 19:33:17","featured":1,"title":"Women Homesteaders","creator":"Anna Bailey, Brigham Young University","description":"<p>Beginning in 1862, the Homestead Act gave any head of household over the age of 21 the right to homestead federal land. After proving up (colloquial phrase for the legal process of securing title to homestead lands after meeting certain government requirements) their claims, homesteaders were given patents for their land. Regulations for claims depended on the region and type of claim. Many women took advantage of the opportunity for land ownership; historians estimate that 12% of homesteaders in the West were women. Their origins varied―some homesteaded only miles from where they were born and others crossed the country or even an ocean. While many planned to farm or ranch indefinitely, for others homesteading was an economic investment and temporary endeavor. The terrain and environment of claims varied, even more than the motives of each homesteader, requiring ingenuity and determination. Women homesteaders endured poverty, isolation, strenuous labor, and more in pursuit of a dream for land ownership. \r\n</p>","postscript_text":"","tour_img":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/f970bb5e9d36a2bdc2f98b41a02e367e.jpg","items":[{"id":450,"title":"Zay Philbrook, Female Homesteader","latitude":44.118346999999999979991116560995578765869140625,"longitude":-107.344168999999993729943525977432727813720703125,"thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/f970bb5e9d36a2bdc2f98b41a02e367e.jpg","fullsize":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/f970bb5e9d36a2bdc2f98b41a02e367e.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":null,"custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":451,"title":"Sage Treharne Jones, Female Homesteader","latitude":37.60953099999999693636709707789123058319091796875,"longitude":-112.9303010000000000445652403868734836578369140625,"thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/8eec0e69d3629d4e63f439c06eb1a19b.jpg","fullsize":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/8eec0e69d3629d4e63f439c06eb1a19b.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":null,"custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":452,"title":"Nellie Burgess, Female Homesteader","latitude":42.9885799999999989040588843636214733123779296875,"longitude":-115.1755179999999967321855365298688411712646484375,"thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/b5fe1ab92bde2b87268d4550dbc33a1d.jpg","fullsize":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/b5fe1ab92bde2b87268d4550dbc33a1d.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":"6761 E King Lane, King Hill, Idaho 83633","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":453,"title":"Marie Jordan Bell, Female Homesteader","latitude":41.61331799999999958572516334243118762969970703125,"longitude":-105.1450549999999992678567650727927684783935546875,"thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/0abbd421f7d0b37611bce6ff3f925943.jpg","fullsize":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/0abbd421f7d0b37611bce6ff3f925943.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":"Jordan Ranch, Laramie County, Chug Creek, Iron Mountain, Wyoming","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":454,"title":"Katherine Garetson, Female Homesteader","latitude":40.2544129999999995561665855348110198974609375,"longitude":-105.525937999999996463884599506855010986328125,"thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/db41df44e2eae29d90afc2b68b337941.jpg","fullsize":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/db41df44e2eae29d90afc2b68b337941.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":"Big Owl Road, Allenspark, Rocky Mountains, Colorado","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":455,"title":"Kate Heizer, Female Homesteader","latitude":40.2696719999999999117790139280259609222412109375,"longitude":-110.0528489999999948167896945960819721221923828125,"thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/5dff0bee6f413282d2b91a59c25175a3.jpg","fullsize":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/5dff0bee6f413282d2b91a59c25175a3.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":"Northeastern Utah just over Wyoming border, former Uintah Indian Reservation.","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":456,"title":"Geraldine Lucas, Female Homesteader","latitude":43.72111100000000050158632802776992321014404296875,"longitude":-110.7341669999999993478922988288104534149169921875,"thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/59bed290014649aa28d35288cc8edfc5.jpg","fullsize":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/59bed290014649aa28d35288cc8edfc5.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":"Geraldine Lucas Homestead–Fabian Place Historic District, Grand Teton","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":457,"title":"Elinore Pruitt Stewart, Female Homesteader","latitude":41.005639000000002170054358430206775665283203125,"longitude":-109.98793200000000069849193096160888671875,"thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/8531e6b6c25202a7b1390570da791f74.jpg","fullsize":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/8531e6b6c25202a7b1390570da791f74.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":null,"custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":458,"title":"Cecelia Weiss, Female Homesteader","latitude":37.91912599999999855526766623370349407196044921875,"longitude":-113.6613569999999953097358229570090770721435546875,"thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/ae6547733ba3c480b60048add163e233.jpg","fullsize":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/ae6547733ba3c480b60048add163e233.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":"Iron County, SW Utah; Escalante Valley, Beryl","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}}]}