The Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to acquire, on behalf of the United States, by gift, purchase, or condemnation, the south half of the northwest quarter, the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter, and the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter section 26, township 4 north, range 5 east, of the sixth principal meridian, Gage County, Nebraska, the same being the first homestead entered upon under the General Homestead Act of May 20, 1862, by Daniel Freeman, and that when so acquired, the said area be designated the “Homestead National Historical Park”.

It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to lay out said land in a suitable and enduring manner so that the same may be maintained as an appropriate monument to retain for posterity a proper memorial emblematical of the hardships and the pioneer life through which the early settlers passed in the settlement, cultivation, and civilization of the great West. It shall be his duty to erect suitable buildings to be used as a museum in which shall be preserved literature applying to such settlement and agricultural implements used in bringing the western plains to its present high state of civilization, and to use the said tract of land for such other objects and purposes as in his judgment may perpetuate the history of the country mainly developed by the homestead law.

For the purpose of carrying out the suggestions and recommendations of the Secretary of the Interior, the necessary annual appropriations therefor are authorized.