Most of the applications for land in the Peace River Country were for homesteads under the Dominion Lands Act. (See Appendix---). By this Act, once areas of Crown land had been surveyed and officially declared available for settlement, individuals could apply for a quarter-section of their choice but no more than one as a homestead. (See Appendix---, Section 9, and Appendix ---). Applicants had to be the male heads of households (albeit but one person) and at least 18 years of age. In the absence of an adult male, an adult female could become eligible. After a successful filing, the homesteader was required to occupy his or her quarter within six months, clear and break five acres of it, undertake some cultivation, construct a habitable dwelling, and live on the land for six months a year for at least three years. (See Appendix---, Sections 9, 13 and 16). Once this was completed to the satisfaction of a Homestead Inspector, and verified by three witnesses, the homesteader could apply for a patent (legal title) to this quarter, provided that he or she had become a Canadian citizen. (See Appendix---). The application for patent had to be made within five years of the acceptance of the application to homestead, unless the homesteader could justify a time extension for reasons such as illness. (See Appendix---, Sections 20 and 21; and Appendix---). Once the application for patent was accepted, legal title was invariably granted. (See Appendix---). This was, for the most part, how the Canadian West had been settled since the Dominion Lands Act had first come into effect in 1873.

With no evidence of compliance with the provisions, homestead entries could be, and usually were, canceled; or, if the homesteader found it too difficult to meet the conditions, he or she could declare an official abandonment and receive credit for any improvements that had been made. (See Appendix---). The homesteader was then eligible to file for a different quarter. In actuality, the government appeared to be relatively lenient with its rules and willing to allow lengthy time extensions, as long as the homesteader appeared to be making progress. Nonetheless, as this database reveals, approximately 50% of the homestead applications made in the Peace River Country between 1910 and 1914 were either canceled or abandoned for various reasons. This was in keeping with the general pattern in western Canada.

One of the reasons the Peace River Country was so attractive at this time was the fact that, with so much land thrown open for settlement at once, there was plenty of room in which to develop expanded farms. At the time, it was recognized throughout North America that the traditional 160-acre homestead was no longer large enough to accommodate a family of any size. In 1908, therefore, several amendments were passed to the Dominion Lands Act, which encouraged the development of larger family farms. The amended Act stipulated that homesteaders could now undertake their residency requirements on land adjoining the homesteads which was occupied by any other family member, and not just a parent, as was previously the case. (See Appendix---, Section 18). It was also now possible for a homesteader to file for land as a proxy on behalf of another adult family member (and not just a son as before) and to reserve land for a 17-year-old family member. (See Appendix---, Section 9.3). In addition, a homesteader could now abandon an entry in favor of a family member. (See Appendix---, Section 13.3). If their homestead quarters were obstructed by rivers, sloughs or other such impediments, farmers could now expand their holdings by having added "from adjoining land, a sufficient area to make up, but not exceed, one hundred and sixty acres." (Appendix---, Section 9.1). It was also now possible for homesteaders to purchase fractional quarters (portions of land that were not complete quarters) at a price not less than $3 per acre, provided that such land was available and adjacent to their homesteads. (See Appendix---, Section 32).

In addition to the amendments to the Dominion Lands Act, 1908 also saw the passing of the Volunteer Bounty Act. By it, every Canadian veteran of the Boer War was offered two quarters of Crown land in western Canada provided that they performed the regular homestead duties on them. (See Appendixes--- and---). Although few such veterans wished to take up this offer, they were allowed to sell their entitlement to others who did through registered land agents. (See Appendix---). Many of the first settlers in the Peace River Country, therefore, were able to begin their farms on the basis of two quarters, and, in some cases, even more, as their spouses could also purchase scrip. These scrip holdings could be supplemented by regular homesteads on adjoining quarters. Half-breed money scrip was also still available for farmers to purchase and expand their holdings, along with some Military Bounty scrip that had been presented to veterans of the Rebellions of 1870 and 1885 in Manitoba and the North West Territories. On the southern prairies, where most of the arable land was taken up, it was not as easy to find several good quarters adjoining each other to create expanded farms as it was in the Peace River Country.

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