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Find the land on my deed
…all that certain tract of land situated in Reeves County, Texas, being all of Section 12, Block 57, T&P RR Co. Survey, Abstract No. 1119, containing 640 acres, more or less…
What to look for
Texas land is described by the original survey it was patented from. The abstract number is the county’s file number for that survey, and is the surest way to find it. Block and section pick out one square mile in the big railroad surveys of West Texas.
The tax bill and the division order often carry the same words.
How a Texas land description works
Most mineral land in West Texas is described by the original survey it was granted from, not by a street address. A typical description reads “Section 12, Block 57, T&P RR Co. Survey, Abstract 1119, Reeves County”. Each part narrows the land down:
- County: abstract numbers start over in every county, so this always comes first.
- Abstract number: the county’s file number for one original survey. With the county, it points to one piece of land.
- Survey: who the land was first granted to, often a railroad company (T&P, H&TC, GC&SF) or the public school fund (PSL).
- Block and section: the grid inside a large railroad survey. A section is usually one square mile.
What the land page shows
Each result opens a plat of that abstract, drawn from the Railroad Commission’s survey shapes, with the abstracts around it, the wells the state ties to it, the leases those wells report under, and the two ends of every drilling permit from the last 24 months. A horizontal well can start on one abstract and end under the next: the state publishes the two ends, not the path between them, so the page shows the ends and says so.
It also says where the county keeps its deed records, because that is where ownership is written down. A map of the land, ours or anyone’s, does not tell you who owns the minerals. If you are sorting out an inheritance, our guide to inherited mineral rights walks through the records to gather.
Questions owners ask
Common questions
Short answers. Sources are at the end of the page.
What is an abstract number on a Texas deed?
Texas land was first granted in surveys, and each county gives every original survey a file number in its abstract of land titles. That number, written A-1119 or Abst. 1119, is the surest way to find a piece of land in a county's records and in the state's survey map.
What do block and section mean in West Texas land descriptions?
The railroad surveys of West Texas, such as the T&P RR Co. and H&TC RR Co. surveys, were laid out in blocks of numbered sections, most of them one square mile, about 640 acres. Block 57, Section 12 is one such square. Some old blocks also carry a township, written T-1-S or TSP 2.
Does this tell me whether I own the minerals?
No. It shows where the land is and what the Railroad Commission records on it: wells, leases and drilling permits. Who owns the minerals, and in what share, is in the deeds, wills and probate records at the county clerk's office. Each land page says where to look and what to ask for.
Why do you need the county?
Abstract numbers and block names repeat from county to county, so the same description can point to different land in two counties. We search one county at a time and never guess. Most descriptions name the county; if yours does not, choose it and search again.
How exact is the map?
The shapes come from the Railroad Commission's survey layer, which was digitized from General Land Office maps and published in the older NAD27 coordinates. They are close, not surveyed. A well that sits near a boundary may belong on the other side of the line.
Can I get an email when a new well is permitted on my land?
Yes, free with an account. Open the land page and choose Watch. We look for new drilling permits on that abstract, including a horizontal well whose bottom hole ends there, completions and first production, and send one email a week at most.
Free check
Rather have us check the statement?
Upload it. We compare every month with the Railroad Commission record and give you the questions to ask.