Abstract: In the 1860s, women’s property rights in the United States changed dramatically with the passage of the Homestead Act and the Married Women’s Property Act. At the same time, Norwegians were immigrating in droves to the plains of the Middle West looking to settle and lay claim to undeveloped land. This project examines this juncture and how Norwegian immigrant women responded to their expanding rights. Through data analysis of census records, land patents and claims, and wills and probates, combined with narratives from settlers and their descendants, this research examines the experiences of Norwegian-American women homesteaders in Brown County, Minnesota, while also exploring how their perspectives on women’s rights and labor were influenced by both their Norwegian heritage and their growing acculturation into American society.