“First Homestead In Dakota”
408
1966
Union
(Note: any text in italics has been taken from the official SDSHS records.)
Marker Text
3 1/2 Miles
The 1862 Homestead law bet 160 acres against the homesteaders ability to stay 5 years. At 12:01 A.M. January 1, 1863, Mahlon Gore, a printer, filed at the Vermillion Land Office for a claim 3½ miles north, where an arrow marks the spot. It was the first filing in Dakota and probably in the United States. He failed to ‘prove up’ and never got the land. He, however, did acquire considerable fame thereby.
Location
Union County, SD 50 – ¼ mile east of Richland & follow arrow