---
title: "Texas Abstracts, Blocks, and Surveys: TXSS Reference Guide | Township America"
description: "Complete reference for the three Texas Survey System (TXSS) description shapes, Abstract, Block & Section, and Survey-name. Covers railroad surveys, Spanish leagues, county coverage, and how acreage varies."
url: https://townshipamerica.com/guides/texas-abstracts-blocks-surveys
---

# Texas Abstracts, Blocks, and Surveys: TXSS Reference Guide

Complete reference for the three Texas Survey System (TXSS) description shapes, Abstract, Block & Section, and Survey-name. Covers railroad surveys, Spanish leagues, county coverage, and how acreage varies.

**Quick Answer:** Texas describes land using three shapes, **Abstract** numbers (unique GLO IDs per county), **Block & Section** (railroad survey grids), and **Survey-name** (Spanish/Mexican original grants). All three coexist across the 254 Texas counties.

---

If you read enough Texas deeds, leases, and Railroad Commission filings, you'll see all three TXSS shapes. This guide is a reference for each, what they look like, where they're used, and how to tell them apart.

## [TXSS at a Glance](#txss-at-a-glance)

| Shape           | Example                             | Typical Region             | Notes                                      |
| --------------- | ----------------------------------- | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| Abstract-only   | A-123 Reeves County, TX             | East Texas, Coastal Bend   | Simplest; abstract # is unique per county  |
| Block & Section | Block 5, Sec 14, T&P Survey, Reeves | West Texas / Permian Basin | Railroad-grant grids; survey-name required |
| Survey-name     | John Smith Survey, Bexar County     | South Texas, RGV           | Original grant tract; named for grantee    |

## [1\. Abstract Numbers](#%5F1-abstract-numbers)

An **abstract number** is a unique identifier the Texas General Land Office (GLO) assigned to each original land grant within a Texas county.

* **Format:** `A-{number}` or `Abstract {number}`, plus a county
* **Range:** Abstract numbers run from 1 to several thousand depending on the county
* **Scope:** Always county-scoped, `A-123 Reeves County` and `A-123 Bowie County` are different parcels
* **Size:** Variable, anywhere from a few acres to tens of thousands

### [Where Abstracts Are Used](#where-abstracts-are-used)

Abstract-only descriptions are the dominant convention in:

* **East Texas** (Bowie, Cass, Marion, Harrison, Panola, etc.), Piney Woods
* **Coastal Bend** (Aransas, Refugio, San Patricio, etc.)
* **Small-grant counties** scattered throughout Central Texas

When you see just `A-{number} {County}` with nothing else, you're looking at an Abstract-only description.

GLO assigned abstract numbers as it indexed land grants alphabetically by grantee. Bowie County `A-1` is the first grant ever recorded in that county; `A-2000` is much later. The number itself has no geographic meaning, you can't infer location from `A-123` without knowing the county.

## [2\. Block & Section](#%5F2-block-section)

In **West Texas**, railroads received large land grants in the late 19th century and surveyed them into **blocks** containing numbered **sections**. The result looks visually similar to PLSS, a regular grid of one-square-mile sections, but each block belongs to a specific railroad survey.

* **Format:** `Block {N}, Sec {N}, {RR} Survey, {County}`
* **Section size:** \~640 acres (similar to PLSS, though not always exact)
* **Survey name often required:** Same block number can exist in multiple surveys

### [Major Railroad Surveys](#major-railroad-surveys)

These are the largest historical grants you'll encounter in TXSS Block & Section descriptions:

| Abbreviation | Full Name                                                 | Where                |
| ------------ | --------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------- |
| **T&P**      | Texas and Pacific Railway Company Survey                  | West / North Texas   |
| **H&TC**     | Houston and Texas Central Railway Company Survey          | Central / East Texas |
| **GC&SF**    | Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company Survey        | West Texas           |
| **BS&F**     | Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway Company Survey | Central Texas        |
| **GH&SA**    | Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway Co. Survey  | South / West Texas   |
| **TT**       | Texas Trunk Railway Company Survey                        | East Texas           |
| **EL&RR**    | East Line and Red River Railroad Company Survey           | Northeast Texas      |

Township America's parser normalizes all railroad-survey abbreviations to their canonical names. `T&P`, `t & p`, `T.&P.`, and `Texas and Pacific Railway Company Survey` all resolve to the same polygon.

### [Where Block & Section Is Used](#where-block-section-is-used)

Block & Section dominates in:

* **Permian Basin** (Reeves, Loving, Ward, Winkler, Pecos, etc.)
* **Trans-Pecos** (El Paso, Hudspeth, Culberson, Jeff Davis, Presidio, Brewster)
* **Panhandle** (Dallam, Hartley, Moore, Lipscomb, Hemphill, Ochiltree, etc.)
* **North Texas** railroad-grant counties

If a description references "Block" and a railroad abbreviation, you're almost certainly in West or North Texas.

## [3\. Survey-Name](#%5F3-survey-name)

In South Texas and parts of Central Texas, many descriptions skip the abstract number and reference the **named survey** directly.

* **Format:** `{Surname or grantee} Survey, {County}`
* **Origin:** Original land grants from the Republic of Texas, Mexican government, or Spanish crown
* **Size:** Often a **league** (\~4,428.4 acres) or **labor** (\~177.1 acres), but varies widely

### [Spanish Leagues and Labors](#spanish-leagues-and-labors)

Texas's pre-independence land grants used Spanish colonial measurement:

| Unit           | Acres        | Used For                     |
| -------------- | ------------ | ---------------------------- |
| League (Legua) | \~4,428.4 ac | Cattle ranching grants       |
| Labor          | \~177.1 ac   | Farming grants (1/25 league) |
| Vara           | 33.33 inches | Linear measurement           |

A `León Survey, Cameron County` description points to a single named tract, the polygon is the original grant boundary, not a geometric subdivision.

### [Where Survey-Name Is Used](#where-survey-name-is-used)

Survey-name descriptions are most common in:

* **South Texas / RGV** (Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Zapata, Webb, etc.)
* **Coastal Bend** (where Spanish/Mexican grants survived through the Texas Republic era)
* **Central Texas** (Bexar, Karnes, Wilson, etc.)

## [How Acreage Varies in TXSS](#how-acreage-varies-in-txss)

Unlike PLSS, where a section is always (~~)640 acres and a quarter is always (~~)160, TXSS parcels vary wildly:

* A small East Texas abstract: 10–50 acres
* A standard Permian Basin section in a railroad block: \~640 acres
* A South Texas Spanish league: \~4,428 acres
* A massive original grant in the Panhandle: 10,000+ acres

This is why Township America returns an explicit `acreage` field in every TXSS conversion, you can't infer it from the description shape alone.

A common mistake is treating a Texas "Section 14" the same as a PLSS Section 14\. They look similar on paper but Texas sections are scoped to a Block + railroad survey, and their acreage drifts more from the nominal 640 than PLSS sections do.

## [Counties: All 254 Covered](#counties-all-254-covered)

Texas has more counties than any other US state, 254, and Township America covers all of them. Each county has its own converter hub:

* </texas/counties/reeves>, Permian Basin example (Block & Section)
* </texas/counties/bowie>, East Texas example (Abstract-only)
* </texas/counties/bexar>, South Texas example (Survey-name + Abstract)

Browse the [Texas hub](/texas) to find a specific county.

## [Finding the Right Description Shape](#finding-the-right-description-shape)

When you have a Texas legal description and you're not sure what shape it is:

| If the description has…                     | It's…               |
| ------------------------------------------- | ------------------- |
| A-, Abs, Abst, or Abstract \+ number        | **Abstract-only**   |
| Block or Blk \+ Sec or Section              | **Block & Section** |
| A person's name + Survey (no block/section) | **Survey-name**     |

Township America's parser handles all three transparently, you don't have to tell it which one you have. Just paste the description and convert.

## [Cross-Reference with Federal Datasets](#cross-reference-with-federal-datasets)

Beyond the basic polygon, the Texas pack ($100/month, on Pro or Business) adds Texas state O&G data in the web app:

* **RRC wells**: Texas Railroad Commission well headers on the Texas map overlay
* **GLO leases**: Active state oil-and-gas leases on the abstract
* **Bay Tracts**: Coastal state-water lease polygons adjacent to coastal abstracts

For programmatic conversion, use `POST /api/convert` with a TXSS description. See [Convert Texas Abstract to GPS Coordinates](/guides/convert-texas-abstract-to-coordinates) and [Township America API](/api).

## [Convert Any TXSS Description](#convert-any-txss-description)

Ready to convert a Texas description to GPS coordinates? See the [Convert Texas Abstract to GPS Coordinates](/guides/convert-texas-abstract-to-coordinates) guide, or jump straight to the converter:

[Open Township America →](https://townshipamerica.com/plss-converter)

For programmatic access across all 254 counties, see [Township America API](/api).

## [Related Guides](#related-guides)

* [Texas Survey System (TXSS): How Texas Describes Land Without PLSS](/guides/texas-survey-system), Why Texas is different
* [Convert Texas Abstract to GPS Coordinates](/guides/convert-texas-abstract-to-coordinates), Practical conversion how-to
* [Township and Range System](/guides/township-range-system), PLSS counterpart

## [Frequently Asked Questions](#frequently-asked-questions)

**How big is a typical Texas abstract?**It varies, anywhere from a few acres to tens of thousands. East Texas abstracts tend to be small; West Texas railroad-survey sections are closer to PLSS-style 640 acres.

**What's the difference between an abstract and a survey?**A survey is the _original grant tract_. An abstract is the _unique number_ GLO assigned that tract within its county. One survey can contain many abstracts.

**Is "Block 5" the same as a PLSS section?**No. A "Block" in TXSS is a railroad-survey grid container; a "Section" is the numbered subdivision inside the block. The PLSS analog of a Texas section is roughly the Block + Section + Survey combination.

**Can a Texas county use multiple TXSS conventions?**Yes, most do. A single county can have abstracts, blocks with sections, _and_ named surveys all in use.

**Where can I see official Texas survey data?**The [Texas General Land Office](https://www.glo.texas.gov) maintains the official survey records. Township America's polygons resolve against GLO data and Railroad Commission filings.

### Related Guides

[Convert Section Township Range to Lat/Long | Free Tool & GuideConvert any section, township, and range to latitude and longitude coordinates. Step-by-step instructions plus an online conversion tool.](/guides/convert-section-township-range-to-coordinates)[Convert Texas Abstract to GPS Coordinates | TXSS Conversion GuideConvert Texas Abstract, Block & Section, and Survey-name descriptions to latitude and longitude coordinates. Step-by-step guide plus an online tool that handles all 254 counties.](/guides/convert-texas-abstract-to-coordinates)[Texas Survey System (TXSS): How Texas Describes Land Without PLSSTexas is the only US state that never adopted PLSS. Learn how the Texas Survey System (TXSS) describes land using Abstract numbers, Block & Section, and Survey-name conventions across all 254 counties.](/guides/texas-survey-system)