I own about 50 acres in Blk 55-5. I notice off the GLO maps that it seems like the drilling/leasing activity there seems to go in a checkerboard pattern. Can anyone explain the reason for this? There must be some logic to it.
Your Right!
https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/txglo/00009/glo-00009.html
Pacific Railroad Acts 1862 Act The original Act’s long title was An Act to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean, and to secure to the government the use of the same for postal, military, and other purposes.
Section 3 granted an additional 10 square miles (26 km²) of public land for every mile of grade except where railroads ran through cities or crossed rivers. The method of apportioning these additional land grants was specified in the Act as being in the form of “five alternate sections per mile on each side of said railroad, on the line thereof, and within the limits of ten miles on each side” which thus provided the companies with a total of 6,400 acres (2,600 ha) for each mile of their railroad. (The interspersed non-granted area remained as public lands under the custody and control of the U.S. General Land Office.)
In 1985, Senate Bill 43 of the 69th Texas Legislature created the Asset Management Division of the General Land Office. Under this bill, Asset Management was charged with evaluating the “real property inventory of each state agency not less than every four years and shall conduct a review during the year before an agency is scheduled for abolition under the Sunset Act.” Furthermore, “if the legislature authorizes a real estate transaction involving real property owned by the state, the division shall take control of the property and complete the transaction on behalf of the state.” Real estate transactions involve either acquisition or disposition. Disposition occurs in the form of sealed bid sales, land trades, direct sales, or a combination of the three. Asset Management also conducts block ups, which consolidate scattered lands into a single, more easily-manageable tract; block ups most often occur where land ownership alternates between state-owned and private land (generally railroad), creating a “checkerboard” pattern. The General Land Office also provides leases and easements on state-owned land to companies and private individuals. Revenue produced by Asset Management supplements the Available School Fund.
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