Patterson's Homestead

Patterson's Homestead. . , Acquiring a Homestead , David S. Patterson came to Itasca in 1889. Patterson made claim to 152 acres, which included the Headwaters of the Mississippi. He purchased the land in 1891 for $191. Patterson's cabin was north of McMullen's cabin near the present day museum building in the picnic area. Patterson was a bachelor, and is mentioned in Jacob V. Brower's journal. Brower and his survey crew camped near the Patterson cabin during the winter of 1888-89. At the time, Patterson's property was not within the park boundary., Initially settlers could acquire land by purchasing it according to the regulations set in the Cash Purchase Law of 1820. This law set a price of $1.25 an acre for the purchase of unclaimed public land. Later, the Homestead Act of 1862 provided that any head of household, United States citizen age 21 or older, or army or navy veteran could claim up to 160 acres of government land. With the stipulation that the claimant had to live on the claim and cultivate it for five years, the Homestead Act enabled a person to acquire title to unclaimed government land at no cost. After six months, a claimant also had the option to purchase the land at $1.25 an acre., Minnesota Becomes a State , The land east of the Missouri River, and all of the land that is Minnesota today, was organized into the Minnesota Territory in 1849. It wasn't until May 11, 1858, that Minnesota became the 32nd state. By 1858, the Ojibwe, Dakota and Ho Chunk Indians had ceded almost all of the Indian lands in Minnesota to the United States government. It was this land that the government made available for settlement., Boundary Changes , Before homesteading claims were issued, a government survey was conducted. Lumbermen and other entrepreneurs often hired their own surveyors and took land as payment. This was a method by which they were able to acquire large tracts of timbered land. In total, about three hundred different individuals and companies surveyed Minnesota., As boundary details were worked out, boundaries were sometimes adjusted. Beltrami County was created by a legislative act on February 28, 1866. Beltrami County had been a part of Pembina and Itasca Counties. The Headwaters of the Mississippi River was once a part of Beltrami County, but it became a part of Clearwater County in 1902.