BEATRICE

Homestead Act

In 1862, the U.S. Congress passed the Homestead Act, which allowed settlers to claim 160 acres (65 ha) of government land for a nominal fee. The law went into effect on January 1, 1863. Just after midnight on that day, Daniel Freeman persuaded a clerk to open the local Land Office so that he could file a claim for a homestead located 4 miles (6 km) west of Beatrice. His is regarded as the first of the 417 applications filed that day.

Early development

The Big Blue River was both a help and a hindrance to the development of Beatrice. It provided the town with a water source, and produced ample power to operate the mills that were among the town's first industries. However, it represented a major obstacle to travelers on the Oregon Trail route; and floods frequently destroyed the dams and bridges in the area. Not until 1890 was a Big Blue bridge built in Beatrice that could survive for decades.

In 1871, the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad constructed a line from Lincoln, Nebraska to Beatrice. In 1879, the Union Pacific Railroad built a line joining Beatrice to Marysville, Kansas. By 1890, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad had also run tracks through Beatrice.

The former international foods conglomerate Beatrice Foods (now a part of ConAgra Foods) was founded in Beatrice in 1894 as The Beatrice Creamery Company, by George Everett Haskell and William W. Bosworth.

Beatrice State Developmental Center

In 1885, the Nebraska legislature enacted legislation to establish the Institution for Feeble Minded Youth near Beatrice, subject to the city's donating a suitable parcel of land. Beatrice donated 40 acres, located 2 miles (3 km) east of the city limits, and the first residents were admitted in 1887.

Over the following decades, the institution expanded greatly. By 1935, there were 1171 residents living on 519 acres (210 ha). The institution was largely self-supporting, operating a farm on which the residents did much of the work; in 1935, 346 acres (140 ha) were under cultivation.

In 1945, the institution was renamed the Beatrice State Home. Its resident population peaked at about 2300 in the late 1960s. From there it declined: new restrictions had been imposed on the use of unpaid labor by residents of institutions, and there was a national trend toward deinstitutionalization. In 1975, the Horacek v. Exon lawsuit was settled with a consent decree whereunder many of the residents of the Beatrice State Home were transferred to community-based mental health facilities. In that year, the institution's name was changed to the current Beatrice State Developmental Center.

A 2006 investigation by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services revealed a number of severe deficiencies at the Center; after two years of appeals, the Center lost its Medicaid certification in 2009.

As of 2011, the Center served about 175 clients. The majority had been diagnosed with "severe" or "profound" intellectual impairments; nearly all suffered from two or more other disabling conditions.