THE EFFECT OF LAND ALIENATION ON SETTLEMENT

ABSTRACT

The process of land alienation involves the disposal of the public domain by the federal government and the acquisition of land by settlers. Land alienation policies affected the way in which the land was settled. Homesteads, railroad grants, purchase via scrip, and state grants all played a role in the settlement of Kandiyohi County, central Minnesota, during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Dutch and Swedish settlers took up land in restricted areas of the county because of the pattern of available land resulting from the various policies. Homestead entries contained the largest proportion of original farmsteads in the mid-1880s. These patterns resulting from initial settlement conditions are still observable.