v. home·stead·ed, home·stead·ing, home·steads 
v. intr.
  
 To settle and farm land, especially under the Homestead Act.
 
v. tr.
To claim and settle (land) as a homestead.
 
home·stead :  
  
 A house, especially a farmhouse, with adjoining buildings and land. 
  
 Law. Property designated by a householder as the householder's home and protected by law from forced sale to meet debts. 
  
 Land claimed by a settler or squatter, especially under the Homestead Act. 
  
 The place where one's home is.