This Digital Archive site currently houses six park collections:
Charles B. Dempster founded the Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company in Beatrice, Nebraska in 1878. Dempster began making agricultural equipment for farmers and homesteaders populating the west. Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company was the longest running windmill manufacturer in the United States. The Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company archival collection consists of records related to how the company ran, the people working there, and the products they made.
Over two million individual homestead claims were made. Every one of these claims generated a written record known as a case file that was kept by the U.S. General Land Office. These records describe improvements made to the property, including houses constructed, wells dug, crops planted, trees cleared, and fences built. Other information that can be found in the files include naturalization certificate, military service, fees paid to complete the paperwork, their household size, and more. The original case files are stored at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
The museum collection at Homestead National Historical Park contains over 9,000 archaeological artifacts, 6,700 historical objects, 1,000 scientific specimens and 928,000 archival documents. Historical objects range from plows to modern trapping equipment from Alaskan homesteads. There are 123 years between the first homesteader, Daniel Freeman, and the last homesteader, Kenneth Deardorff. The needs of the homesteaders did not change dramatically, but the technology did.
The oral history collection ranges from firsthand accounts of homesteaders to park staff discussing Homestead National Historical Park. Oral histories are important for understanding why things happened and how past experiences and traditions are remembered. Some of the oral histories in this collection are individual recordings and others are part of organized projects. Each story tells a unique perspective on history.
Homestead National Historical Park was established on March 19, 1936, on the site of Daniel Freeman’s homestead. Over the years, the park has generated a large collection of photographs. This collection contains photographs related to all the functions of the park. Some subjects include the buildings and grounds, construction projects, special events, and interpretive programs.
In 1899 Lillian Wilkinson, her parents, and five siblings moved to Sheridan County, Nebraska to homestead. The children continued receiving their education in Gage County, Nebraska and spent their summers in Sheridan County. After finishing her schooling, Lillian Wilkinson taught in Sheridan County, Nebraska and homesteaded on her own claim. She proved up on her claim in 1914. Three years later, she married Jesse Higgins and moved back to Gage County, Nebraska. These glass plate negatives have been reversed to show the positive print of the image. They depict life in Gage County where she went to school and later raised her family as well as homesteading life in Sheridan County. Most of the images were taken between 1900-1910.