homesteads

EARLIEST MATANUSKA VALLEY HOMESTEADS

(an incomplete list)

By  Coleen Mielke  2021


Homesteading in Alaska started in 1898,
however  by 1910, there were only 20 homestead patents.
 By 1940, there were still under 1,000 patents.
By the 1980's, when the program ended, only 3,500 full homesteads
had been granted during the entire life of the program.
Rules, to obtain a homestead patent, were few and fairly straight forward.
Between 5/14/1898  and  3/2/1903  a claimant could apply for 80 acres.
Between 3/3/1903  and  7/7/1916  claimant could apply for 320 acres.
Between 7/8/1916  and the 1980's  a claimant could apply for 160 acres.
In Alaska, the requirements to receive your homestead patent were:

1.  You had to be 21 years old and the head of the family.

2.  You had to live on the land for 5 consecutive years =
    (after 6/5/1912, it was changed to 3 consecutive years and a few
     exemptions were added, such as short medical or vacation absences)
     and military veterans could apply to have part of their military time
     used as a substitute for homestead dwelling requirements.

3.  You had to build and live in a habitable dwelling (tents not acceptable)

 4.  You had to have no less than 1/8th of your land under cultivation
After WWII, veterans (with more than 19 months of military service) were
given 1st preference to claim a 160 acre homestead by living on the
homestead for 9 months with no cultivation requirements. The mandatory
"habitable dwelling" only required 4 walls and a roof (not a floor).

In 1934, President Roosevelt allowed people to claim a 5 acre homesite tract's and the
cultivation requirement was cancelled, although people still had to live on the land for
3 years and build a habitable dwelling there.  At the end of the 3 year requirement,
the land could be purchased for $2.50 per acre.
The following 70  homestead patents were granted to Matanuska Valley
residents between 1916 and 1926.Keep in mind that these people were residing
on their homesteads at least 3 years PRIOR to their patent date
NAME
 DATE HOMESTEAD STAKED
(approximate-calculated date)
 PATENT GRANTED
 HOMESTEAD ACRES
Marino, Ben
 1917
 2/2/1920
 151
Hughes, William
 1914
 10/17/1917
 243
Metz, Jacob
 1919
 5/18/1922
 316
Reising, Ab
 1917
 5/14/1920
 320
Walby, Hans L.
 1918
 11/15/1921
 320
Thorpe, Clyde C.
 1916
 8/29/1919
 320
Swanson, August G.
 1915
 8/22/1918
 240
Edlund, John Fridolf
 1919
 3/13/1922
 240
Duncklee, Edward A.
 1916
 10/9/1919
 319
Conway, Joseph
 1920
 3/15/1923
 320
Gates, George A.
 1920
 4/24/1923
 265
Moffatt, William A.
 1917
 6/16/1920
 320
Crocker, Frederick M.
 1918
 8/29/1921
 301
Olson, Arthur
 1919
 2/1/1922
 320
Cornelius, Roy A.
 1919
 5/18/1922
 320
Olson, Axel
 1916
 12/3/1919
 320
McDougal, Thomas
 1916
 11/24/1919
 320
McCaughey, Hugh
 1917
 6/14/1920
 160
Miller, Ira
 1917
 6/16/1920
 157
Wilson, Charles Henry
 1918
 10/15/1921
 320
Rasmussen, Julius
 1917
 10/30/1920
 160
Larson, William H.
 1920
 6/2/1923
 80
Fleckenstein, Christopher
 1920
 5/19/1923
 320
Fleckenstein, Frank J.
 1920
 1/9/1923
 160
Winchester, Frank J.
 1917
 6/16/1920
 320
Loken, John M.
 1917
 5/14/1920
 306
Nylen, George
 1916
 10/11/1919
 157
O'Brien, John J.
 1919
 6/21/1922
 320
Clyde,George Mapes
 1920
 5/3/1923
 40
Neklason, John R.
 1917
 9/2/1920
 295
Neklason, Necolous H.
 1919
 11/24/1922
 320
Haller, Gustav Adolf
 1919
 1/14/1922
 20
Shough, Harry C.
 1916
 2/1/1919
 5(town of Wasilla)
Springer, John August
 1917
 6/29/1920
 287
Bugge, John J.
 1917
 2/2/1920
 320
Miller, Oliver Cromwell
Nickname: "40 Mile Miller"
 1915
 7/19/1918
 320
Werner, Adam
 1918
 11/15/1921
 320
Abrahamson, Gustaf
 1918
 11/15/1921
 273
Engstrom, Carl
 1917
 12/10/1920
 320
Agnew, Benjamin
 1919
 11/10/1922
 158
Anderson, Oscar
 1919
 5/18/1922
 157
Needham, Nelson
 1918
 11/15/1921
 320
Hunt, Samuel
 1919
 2/16/1922
 165
Johnson, Axel Herman
 1917
 1/22/1920
 159
Krogh, Oliver O.
 1917
 9/2/1920
 160
Loken, John M.
 1917
 5/14/1920
 306
Smith, Theron A.
 1922
 10/7/1925
 160
Moshier, George  S.
 1919
 2/13/1922
 260
Bogard, William J.
 1916
 7/14/1919
 301
Saindon, George Henry
 1918
 11/8/1921
 160
Saindon, John William
 1918
 11/22/1921
 80
Rupprecht, John
 1919
 3/13/1922
 134
Bodenburg, John Henry
 1918
 11/8/1921
 160
Stern, Christ
 1917
 12/17/1920
 317
He gave this land
to the City of
Wasilla when he
died in 1927
Ulanky, Charles
 1915
 7/19/1918
 287
Cobb, Arthur A.
 1918
 8/29/1921
 202(town of Matanuska)
Hoffman, Frank
 1923
 8/24/1926
 26(town of Matanuska)
Cannon, Frank
 1919
 2/13/1922
 159
Carter, Fred
 1917
 6/16/1920
 320
Crocker, Frederick M.
 1918
 8/29/1921
 301
Frydenlund, Hans Fredrik
 1920
 3/7/1923
 160
Gronwoldt, Herman John
 1920
 6/13/1923
 153
Gustafson, Gustaf Emil
 1920
 4/6/1923
 320
McCallie, John Hugh
 1919
 8/23/1922
 159
Egtvet, Clifford
 1917
 6/16/1920
 230
Hermann, George H.
 1923
 5/4/1916
 160
Heady, John M.
 1919
 3/12/1922
 160
THIS LIST IS INCOMPLETE  (it is a work in progress)

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