Kenneth Deardorff Becomes Last Homesteader in U.S. History with 1988 Alaska Patent
Kenneth Deardorff, a Vietnam veteran, officially became the last person in U.S. history to receive a homestead title under the Homestead Act when he was granted his federal patent on May 5, 1988. Deardorff moved to Alaska in 1974, initially seeking work, but instead pursued homesteading along the Stony River in southwestern Alaska. He settled in an isolated area, relying on hunting, trapping, and operating a small general store to sustain himself while developing his property. Despite completing the requirements for his homestead in 1979, the official patent was delayed for nine years. The Homestead Act of 1862, which encouraged settlement across the American West, had ended for new claims in the lower 48 states in 1976, with Alaska receiving a special 10-year extension until 1986. Deardorff's claim, filed in 1974, allowed his process to continue, culminating in his historic patent. His story marks the quiet closure of a 126-year-old federal program. 
