The only U.S. state with a unicameral legislature, Nebraska was populated by the Omaha, Missouria, Ponca, Pawnee, Ote, and Sioux Indians before French-Canadian explorers first entered the area. Settlement of what is now the state did not begin until after 1848 and the California Gold Rush. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 created the Nebraska Territory and the first wave of homesteaders did not begin until the 1860s. Most of the original homes were made of sod because there were so few trees. Nebraska became the 37^th state in 1867 and the capitol was moved from Omaha to Lancaster, later re-named Lincoln.