Part 2

II. DISPOSITION OF TEXAS LAND

The disposal of land within the present boundaries of Texas constitutes an interesting segment of the State’s history.

The disposition of these lands actually began while they were still part of Spain’s colonial empire. In the areas around Nacogdoches, San Antonio, and the Rio Grande Valley, Spain gave away a few very large tracts of land. When Mexico obtained her independence, she granted title to other large areas in Texas. The means by which Mexico disposed of these lands were three: sale, special grants, and empresario contracts. The most famous of the last of these was the contract with Moses and Stephen F. Austin. The total number of acres granted by Spain and Mexico approximated 26,250,000.

When Texas earned her independence, she recognized the legitimacy of titles to land granted by Spain and Mexico. In addition, Texas set about disposing of more land.

In general, Texas parted with land in three ways. She gave some away, traded other for services, and sold some.

Land given away was designed to encourage immigration, reward good citizens and veterans of military service, encourage settlement and improvement of land, help the growth of railroads and other internal improvements, and foster development of educational systems.

Texas traded more than 3,000,000 acres of land for the construction of a state capitol building.

There was but one reason to sell land, and that was important: to pay debts of the State.

Grants of land were given numerous names, depending upon the purpose of the grant. HEADRIGHTS were to encourage immigration and reward native citizens. BOUNTIES and DONATIONS were given to men who had fought with the Army of the Republic during the Texas Revolution. PRE-EMPTIONS (or HOMESTEADS) were given in the late 1850’s to encourage families to settle permanently on and to improve a plot of land. CONFEDERATE SCRIP rewarded Texas veterans who had fought for the Confederacy. CONTRACTOR SCRIP was given for construction of railroads and other internal improvements. Two other classes of scrip were sold: TOBY SCRIP, named for the man who sold it; and SALES SCRIP; these were designed to help pay the public debt. Land granted without any particular designation was that given to public schools, counties, The University of Texas, and eleemosynary institutions to use in developing an educational system.

Here is a detailed study of circumstances surrounding the disposition of all land given, traded, or sold by the Republic and State of Texas.

HEADRIGHTS

There were four classes of HEADRIGHTS.

The first was granted by the delegates who adopted the Constitution of the Republic of Texas in March of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos. It provided that “all persons except Africans and their descendents, and Indians, living in Texas on the day of the Declaration of Independence, are entitled to headright grants, if they be heads of families one league and one labor, and if a single man, 17 years old or older, one-third of a league”.

Second Class Headright Certificates went to heads of families and single men who arrived in Texas as immigrants after the Declaration of Independence and prior to October 1, 1837, provided they remained in the Republic three years and performed the duties of citizenship. Heads of families were to receive certificates for 1280 acres and single men a certificate for 640 acres.

The Third Class of Headright Certificates were granted to heads of families and single men who immigrated to Texas after October 1, 1837, and before January 1, 1842. Heads of families under this class were entitled to 640 acres of land and single men to 320 acres.

Fourth Class Certificates were issued to immigrants who arrived in Texas after January 1, 1840, and before January 1, 1842. Young men who were permanent residents and became 17 years of age before January 1, 1840, were also eligible for this certificate. Heads of families could receive certificates for 640 acres, and single men for 320 acres. The recipient was required to perform the duties of a citizen for three years.

A number of famous men connected with Texas history, or their heirs, received the First Class Headright Certificate. They included James Bowie and David Crockett, who died at the Alamo. Another interesting First Class Certificate went to Thomas Lagow, who immigrated to Texas in November, 1835. His property was located on White Rock Creek in Dallas County, and covered a large part of what is now the southeast part of the City of Dallas.

Among Third Class Certificates will be found all colonial grants. The Republic of Texas encouraged immigration by contracting with numerous people who agreed to settle a number of immigrants on public domain.

Each immigrant who was head of a family was to receive 640 acres of land, and a single person 320 acres. The colonizers were to receive their pay in land.

Four of the better-known colonies were Peters’, Mercer’s, Castro’s, and Fisher and Miller’s. The first two were located in the North Central part of the state. Dallas County, for example, was a part of Peters’ Colony, which was headed by W. S. Peters. Mercer’s Colony was located to the southeast of Peters’. These two colonies were settled by immigrants from the United States.

Castro’s Colony, which was established southwest of San Antonio, was settled by Germans and Alsatians. More Germans settled to the northwest of San Antonio in Fisher and Miller’s Colony.

The total number of acres in these four colonies was 4,494,806. All four contracts were signed during the first half of the 1840’s.

PRE-EMPTIONS (HOMESTEADS)

The purpose of Headrights was to encourage settlers to immigrate to Texas. Pre-emptions (or Homesteads) had the same basic objective.

Essentially, the Homestead Laws provided that a person who had settled upon a tract of land and who had improved it could claim the land. However, the settler could not claim more than a certain number of acres, and he could not claim the property if someone else had already claimed it.

The meaning of PRE-EMPTION becomes clearer with the dictionary definition: “The act or right of claiming property before others”.

Homestead or Pre-emption grants were made under a number of laws.

The first, passed January 22, 1845, declared that the settler could claim up to 320 acres. He was required to present land certificates within three years. Later, this time was extended to January 1, 1854.

The next law was dated February 7, 1853, but there was very little difference between this and the 1845 legislation.

Both the 1845 and 1853 laws were repealed, however, by the Act of February 13, 1854, which reduced the amount of land which a settler could claim as a pre-emption to 160 acres. The 1854 law further specified that the pre-emptor was required to live on the land for three years. This law was repealed on August 26, 1856, and Acts of November 12, 1866, and August 12, 1870, restored pre-emption laws similar to the 1854 legislation. The 1866 and 1870 laws were made a part of the Constitution of 1876, and settlers continued to claim land under pre-emption laws until 1898, when litigation in the courts brought this class of claims to an end.

The main reason for the end of pre-emptions was that homesteaders ran out of public domain on which to settle. However, 4,847,136 acres were granted under Homestead or Pre-emption laws.

BOUNTIES AND DONATIONS

After the Texas Revolution, the Republic of Texas granted its soldiers certificates for 640 acres of land. This was to go to all who were engaged in the Battle of San Jacinto, all who were wounded the day before, all who guarded the army’s baggage near Harrisburg, all who entered Bexar from the morning of the 5th to the 10th of December, 1835, all who took part in the reduction of the fort at Bexar, all who were in action under Colonels Fannin and Ward on March 19, 1836, and to the heirs of those who were killed at the Battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836.

An interesting feature of the Act of December 21, 1837, which granted these lands, was that veterans receiving lands under this act could not sell or mortgage those lands.

More than 40 years later, on April 26, 1879, the State Legislature granted another 640 acres to indigent veterans of the Texas Revolution, after repealing an act which granted those veterans a pension of $150 per year.

CONFEDERATE SCRIP

Texas rewarded its fighting men again after the Civil War (or War Between the States).

Carpetbaggers who were in control of the State government during reconstruction sought to reward men who fought in the Union army “during the late Rebellion”, but no grants of land were made under this act, which was passed on August 21, 1868.

When Texans regained control of the State government, they provided that veterans who had been permanently disabled while in Confederate service could receive 1280 acres of land.

This act, which was passed April 9, 1881, further specified that anyone receiving land under this provision could not have an estate valued at more than $1,000.

Titles to land granted under this provision are called CONFEDERATE SCRIP.

GRANTS FOR EDUCATION

The people of Texas have always been interested in better educational systems. Early Texas newspapers reflect this fact. Consequently, land was set aside by the Republic or State at one time or other for the benefit of The University of Texas, county schools, eleemosynary institutions, and public schools. In many cases, this land has been sold, and the systems have benefited from the fund thereby created.

The University of Texas

By the Act of January 26, 1839, the Congress of the Republic of Texas set aside 50 leagues of land to be used in the establishment of two colleges or universities. This land was not surveyed until August 30, 1856, and The University of Texas actually received a fraction over 49 leagues, that is, about 217,000 acres. Most of this land, which was located in Grayson, Hunt, Fannin, Cooke, Lamar, Collin, McLennan, Callahan, and other counties, was sold. From them the University received about $653,000. A fraction of one league remains in the hands of the University.

The Act of August 30, 1856, provided that income from sales of University lands should compose a fund subject to appropriation by the Legislature for the University.

Earlier, an Act of January 30, 1854, which was primarily concerned with encouraging the growth of railroads in the State, gave the University one of every ten sections allotted for railroads. To this, the Legislature added on February 11, 1858, $100,000 in bonds, and one section of land in ten granted to the Galveston and Brazos Navigation Company.

The Constitution of 1876 provided the first real basis for the University, granting the school one million acres from the unclaimed public domain, providing that the one of every ten railroad sections were not taken by the University. An Act of April 10, 1883, added another million acres to this.

The Constitution of 1876 also provided for the establishment of a Permanent University Fund which was to be composed of all land belonging to the University and all income from the sale of this land. In later years, this fund has grown by leaps and bounds as royalties and bonuses from oil exploration and production on University lands have been added to it. At the end of 1957, the Permanent University Fund stood at about $292,000,000. This money is invested, and income from these investments goes into an available fund from which The University of Texas draws two-thirds and Texas A & M College one-third for current expenses.

Public Schools

The other great Texas educational fund is the Permanent School Fund, which amounted to nearly $360,500,000 in July, 1957. Like the Permanent University Fund, this money is invested, and income from the investments is spent for current needs. Unlike the University Fund, the Permanent School Fund may have one per cent of its value appropriated by the Legislature each year for current expenses. Of course, this appropriation—if made—is approved during the Legislature’s biennial session. The bulk of the Permanent School Fund, like the Permanent University Fund, has come from mineral development on specific lands set aside for the benefit of the fund.

These lands were provided by the Constitution of 1876, which said that one-half of the public domain of the state, alternate sections of railroad land, and all money from the sale of these lands should constitute the Permanent School Fund. An Act of February 23, 1900, gave the then remaining public domain to the Permanent School Fund, except for rivers, lakes, bays, and islands along the Gulf of Mexico. In 1939, the Texas Legislature dedicated the mineral estate of these rivers, lakes, bays and islands to the Permanent School Fund. For sometime before the dedication, most income from these sources had been channeled into the Permanent School Fund.

Under these acts, 46,500,000 acres of land, including the mineral estate alone of 7,160,000 acres, have been granted to the Permanent School Fund. Of the former figure, 42,500,000 acres are surveyed uplands, of which only about 900,000 remain unsold. The first school land sold was 160 acres in Bowie County in 1874. Since 1905 all sales have been on a competitive sealed bid basis.

Moneywise, oil production royalties alone brought the Permanent School Fund more than $14,000,000 in 1956. Of the 7800 oil leases in force, production was experienced on about 1400.

Another source of income—small though it is—for the Permanent School Fund comes from tracts of unsurveyed land. These are called “vacancies”. People occupying this land usually believe that they own it. In 1939 the Legislature passed an act designed to protect the occupants of the land in their rights and to insure that the Permanent School Fund receives its rightful share of the value of this unsurveyed land.

Of a similar nature to vacancies is excess land—acreage within a tract in excess of what was granted to the first claimant. These were usually created by inadequate surveying equipment and hardships under which surveyors worked during the early years of Texas. For example, a tract of land when first surveyed might have measured 160 acres. Today, with more precise surveying equipment and methods, the tract might survey out to be 180 acres. The difference between the two—20 acres—is excess acreage. It has been estimated that about one per cent of the total area of the state, or about 1,750,000 acres, was at one time excess land.

Owners of property containing excess land were also covered by the June 19, 1939, law mentioned above. These owners, and property holders occupying vacancies, were allowed by the 1939 law to pay a reasonable price for the land and receive a clear title to the property.

As examples of money coming into the Permanent School Fund from these sources, excesses have put about $2,000,000 into the fund since the 1939 law was enacted, and vacancies have brought the fund about half a million dollars.

In conclusion, it will be of interest to note that lands now belonging to the Permanent School Fund are channels, lakes, bays, and other areas within tidewater limits including part of the Gulf of Mexico. In addition, vacant lands and 900,000 acres of surveyed uplands belong to the Permanent School Fund. All minerals within the remaining public domain have, therefore, been dedicated to this school fund.

County Schools

The general education act of January 26, 1839, which gave The University of Texas 50 leagues of land, also made provision for local schools throughout Texas. This act granted each county in the then-Republic three leagues for school purposes. An Act of March 13, 1875, increased each county’s grant to four leagues. All but 18 of the state’s present 254 counties received this land, and most of them sold it, receiving small sums. Some counties retained their land, and many have had oil discovered on their property. Each county set up its own permanent school fund into which goes money from sale of county lands or money from mineral leases. Most counties that did not sell their land today have permanent funds of several hundred thousand dollars.

These county lands are under the control of each county commissioners court, and are not supervised by the General Land Office.

Eleemosynary Institutions

An endowment for these institutions was created by the Legislature with an Act of August 30, 1856. By this act more than 100,000 acres were given to each of these institutions: State Insane Asylum, Institute for the Blind, Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, and the State Orphan Home. When this land was surveyed, it was found to contain about 410,600 acres. Under various sales acts from 1881 through 1897, this land was sold mostly to settlers who improved it. Price of this property was from $1 to $2.50 per acre. Most of the land was suitable for farming.

GRANTS FOR INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS

Railroads

There was much agitation in the early Texas press for the development of railroads in Texas. Accordingly, the State began granting lands as early as 1852 in return for the laying of track. On January 30, 1854, general railroad legislation was enacted granting 16 sections of land per mile to companies that would build at least 25 miles of track. In locating their land, railroads were required to locate a like amount for the State. Railroad lands were usually surveyed in tracts of a section each, odd-numbered tracts going to the railroad companies, and even-numbered tracts going to the State of Texas.

Railroad companies were required to dispose of this land within a specified period of time, which originally was 12 years. This was later increased to 21 years and, finally, reduced to seven years. The Legislature’s reason for enacting this requirement was probably to encourage settlers to these railroad lands and to discourage the formation of huge railroad estates.

The State halted its railroad grants by an Act of April 22, 1882. Total acres granted to railroads reached 32,153,878.

Memphis, El Paso and Pacific Railroad Company provides an example of the large areas that were granted for this purpose. A reservation eight miles wide, and later 40 miles wide, was set aside in which this railroad company could select its land.

Canals, Irrigation, Making Rivers Navigable

Construction of canals and irrigation systems and clearing rivers of obstructions to navigation began to interest the State of Texas to such an extent after 1870 that legislation was enacted to encourage these activities.

The main reason for this interest was the speedy, direct transportation which canals and rivers could provide. Railroads were only then beginning to stretch their steel fingers across the state, and Texans still needed other ways to get themselves and their goods from one place to another.

On February 22, 1875, the Capital Canal Company was organized to dig a canal from Marble Falls to Austin—a distance of about 40 miles—and the company was to be granted 20 sections of land for each mile of canal. General Land Office files indicate that the canal, if constructed, was never paid for in land grants.

A general act designed to encourage construction of canals and irrigation ditches was passed on August 21, 1876. The legislation provided that contractors who dug canals or irrigation ditches at least two miles in length could receive from two to eight sections of land, depending upon the size of the passage.

Most of the land granted for these purposes went for irrigation ditches.

Earlier, on June 2, 1873, the Legislature allowed four sections of land for each mile of the Trinity River that was cleared of snags and sand bars.

Industry

Another improvement encouraged by the State was the use of more efficient machinery for the preparation of iron from ore, the conversion of cotton or wool into thread, or paper. An Act of December 15, 1863, provided that any person or corporation installing improved equipment by March 1, 1865, would be granted 320 acres of land for each $1000 worth of machinery.

Shortages arising out of the Civil War undoubtedly compelled this legislation. Southern States had been cut off from northern and European manufactures and took this, among other, means of encouraging Southerners to establish their own industry.

One of the few companies that took advantage of this legislation was the Waco Manufacturing Company, which received 58 certificates for 320 acres each on January 6, 1873, and which later claimed and received the land to which they were entitled.

Highways

The Republic was interested in highway building as early as 1844. On February 5 of that year the Legislature provided for the construction of “The Central National Road of the Republic of Texas”, later called the Kiamisha Road. The legislative body decreed that the cost of the road should not exceed 160 acres of land for each mile constructed.

The road was to stretch from near the mouth of the Elm Fork of the Trinity River to the Red River opposite the mouth of Kiamisha Creek, from which the road took its name. The highway was to be at least 30-feet wide, and all bridges were to be at least 15-feet wide.

The Kiamisha Road was never built.

CONSTRUCTION OF STATE CAPITOL

On February 20, 1879, the State Legislature set aside 3,050,000 acres of land in West Texas to pay for a new State Capitol building. Interestingly, the act provided for the survey of this land and detailed a force of Rangers to protect the surveyors in their work.

The cornerstone of the Capitol was laid on March 2, 1885, and the building was formally dedicated on May 16, 1888. The pink granite which forms the walls of the Capitol came from Granite Mountain near Marble Falls in Burnet County.

Forty years after construction of the Capitol, it was discovered that too much land had been given to the contractor in exchange for building the structure. The State recovered 57,836 acres of land in 1924. This recovered land is in Dallam and Hartley Counties.

SALE OF TEXAS LAND

Governments almost always have experienced a need for money to pay debts. Texas the Republic and Texas the State have been no exceptions.

An Act of the Congress of the Republic of Texas on December 10, 1836, empowered the President to issue scrip which could be traded for land in Texas. This scrip was to be sold by agents in the United States for not less than 50 cents an acre. Thomas Toby of New Orleans, Louisiana, was the most famous agent, and the land located with scrip he sold is classified in the General Land Office files today as “Toby Scrip”.

On July 14, 1879, large parts of the public domain were again offered for sale through land scrip at 50 cents per acre. Most of this land was located in 52 counties in West Texas.

Today, this land, which sold for 50 cents per acre, is worth many times more. All in all, about 3,000,000 acres of land were sold to help pay the public debt of Texas.

CONCLUSION

About 48,500,000 acres of the Texas Public Domain have been set aside for public education. This is about one-fourth the area of the state. The State of Texas still has an interest in about 16,000,000 acres, and the Commissioner of the General Land Office has charge of these. This land, which is scattered all over the state, offers leases on oil, gas, sulphur, and other minerals, timber, and grazing. Altogether, this land brings the State nearly $30,000,000 per year in income.

This study reveals that early Texas leaders were farsighted. They maintained faith in the future of Texas and utilized the most abundant resource of the state—land—to insure a prosperous future of their beloved Texas.

III. ITEMS OF INTEREST TO BE FOUND IN THE GENERAL LAND OFFICE