News Release

Homestead National Monument of America to Host Special Exhibit on Historic African-American Town of Empire, Wyoming through March

Date: February 8, 2019
Contact: Susan Cook, 402-223-3514

A special exhibit on Empire, Wyoming will be on display at Homestead National Monument of America’s Education Center from the end of January to the last week of March 2019. Part of the exhibit, a collection of standing banners, has been lent to the Monument by the Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne, and part of the exhibit comes from the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper, Wyoming.

Empire, Wyoming itself is no longer a town you can find on the map, but from 1908 until about the mid-1920s, Empire was a thriving agricultural community of African-American homesteaders in eastern Wyoming, near the present-day city of Torrington.

In many parts of the Great Plains, African-American settlers, like so many others, found opportunity in the Homestead Act of 1862: A tremendously impactful land law that gave away more than 270 million acres of land across the United States from 1863 to 1986. Some of these settlements experienced strong partnerships with their neighbors, such as the amicable relationship between DeWitty—Nebraska’s most successful African-American homesteading town—and neighboring, mostly white Brownlee. In Empire, however, the black residents experienced hardship and discrimination.

“It was possible to homestead across thirty states, from as far east as Florida to as far west as Alaska,” stated Homestead National Monument of America Superintendent Mark Engler. “Each of these states has unique homesteading stories to share.”

Remember, Homestead National Monument of America has an exciting schedule of events planned for 2019. Keep up with the latest information by following us on Twitter (HomesteadNM) and Facebook (Homestead National Monument of America).
Homestead National Monument of America is a unit of the National Park Service located four miles west of Beatrice, Nebraska. Hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free of charge. For additional information, please call 402-223-3514 or visit http://www.nps.gov/home.