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2006 Midwest Regional Conference 1 23 Lincoln, Nebraska • July 2006 ®5:00 P.M. Saturday, July 8 Homestead National Monument of America: Rebirth of a National Monument Homestead National Monument at Beatrice, Nebraska Mark Engler, Homestead National Monument of America Todd Arrington, Homestead National Monument of America Donald Stevens, National Park Service Tom Richter, National Park Service The Homestead National Monument of America was authorized by Con- gress in 1937 as a monument in the National Park System to commemo- rate the Homestead Act. The National Park Service is building a new Heri- tage Center and new exhibits to tell the national and international scope of the Homestead Act and to reorient the way park visitors experience the agrarian landscape of the monument. The topics discussed will include the National Park Service planning process and objectives of the changes, the design and contents of the planned exhibit, and related initiatives such as reformatting the homestead case files at the National Archives and Records Administration and an oral history project. The records project is being inaugurated through a partnership with the National Park Service, the National Archives, and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Following the indoor discussion, the participants and attendees will take an interpre- tive tour of the monument site. Buses will leave the Cornhusker Hotel at 4:00 p.m. and the session will begin at 5:00 p.m. The barbecue will follow. There is no charge for this event, but participants are asked to register using the preregistration form online or on page 30. Transportation is sponsored by the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and Nebraska Wesleyan University. The Palmer - Epard Cabin built in 1867. The dwelling was constructed of mixed hardwoods (oak, hackberry, ash, locust, walnut and elm) and homemade bricks set in lime mortar. It was occupied consecutively by the Palmer and the Epard families, then moved to the Homestead National Monument site for exhibit purposes in 1950. Today the cabin is fur- nished to depict life in the 1880s. Photo courtesy National Park Service.