Garden County Nebraska

The sandhills are characterized by continuous grass and forb-covered dunes and swales and are considered to be the largest body of sand in the world, which is not a desert. Where the swales dip below the water table, sub-irrigated meadows, marshes, and lakes have formed. In most cases, no stream systems exist between wetlands. Many lakes are maintained solely by underground water sources.

Encouraged by the Homestead Act and the Timber Claim Act, settlers began flocking to the region, claiming most of the land by 1890. New railroads and the Kinkaid Law of 1904 brought a final rush of landseekers.

The Kinkaid Act of 1904, a modification of the Homestead Act to allow settlers 640 acres in ``less productive'' areas. As a result, a homestead existed in almost every meadow. However, 640 acres was not a viable farm/ranch unit in the Sandhills, and land was soon consolidated into larger units. Today, the Sandhills are home to some of the largest ranches in the country. Because of the large acreage required to support economically viable units, Garden County is among the least densely populated areas in the continental United States.