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Not to be confused with United States General Land Office.
Texas General Land Office
Seal of the Texas General Land Office

Stephen F. Austin State Office Building
Agency overview
Formed22 December 1836; 188 years ago (1836-12-22)
JurisdictionTexas public lands
HeadquartersStephen F. Austin State Office Building
1700 N. Congress Ave
Austin, Texas 78701
30°16′46″N 97°44′22″W / 30.27944°N 97.73944°W / 30.27944; -97.73944
Agency executive
Websiteglo.texas.gov

The Texas General Land Office (GLO) is a state agency of the U.S. state of Texas, responsible for managing lands and mineral rights properties that are owned by the state. The GLO also manages and contributes to the state's Permanent School Fund. The agency is headquartered in the Stephen F. Austin State Office Building in Downtown Austin.[1]

Role and remit

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The General Land Office's main role is to manage Texas's publicly owned lands, by negotiating and enforcing leases for the use of the land, and sometimes by making sales of public lands. Royalties and proceeds from land sales are added to the state's Permanent School Fund, which helps to fund public education within the state.[2] The agency is also responsible for keeping records of land grants and titles and for issuing maps and surveys of public lands.[3] The agency also manages federal disaster recovery grant funding.[4]

Since 2011 the GLO has managed The Alamo in San Antonio. The management of The Alamo was transferred to the General Land Office after allegations of mismanagement were directed at the prior manager, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.[5]

History

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The Congress of the Republic of Texas established the General Land Office on 22 December 1836 (making the GLO the oldest existing Texas public agency).[6] The agency's constitutional purpose was to "superintend, execute, and perform all acts touching or respecting the public lands of Texas."[7] Since its establishment the agency has been located in Austin, although a relocation to Houston was briefly attempted during the Texas Archive War. One former home of the GLO, the Old Land Office Building, is a registered historic place and now serves as the Texas State Capitol Visitor Center.

When the State of Texas was annexed into the United States in 1845, it kept control of all of its public lands from its time as a sovereign state.[8] As a result, Texas is the only public land state in the US to control all of its own public lands;[7] all federal lands in Texas were acquired by purchase (e.g. military bases), donation (e.g. national parks) or eminent domain.

Texas's public lands were significantly enlarged by the US Submerged Lands Act of 1953 and the resolution of the ensuing Tidelands Controversy. Because Texas's historical territorial waters originated with the Republic, the US Supreme Court ruled in the 1960 case United States v. Louisiana[9] that Texas was in the unique position of owning territory out to three leagues (9 geographical miles which is nearly exactly 9 nautical miles, 10.35 statute miles, 16.66 km) from its coastline (significantly more than the three geographical miles controlled by other coastal states). All of these lands (and the oil and gas deposits beneath them) are managed by the General Land Office.

Texas Land Commissioner

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Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office
since January 10, 2023
StyleThe Honorable
Term lengthFour years, no term limits
FormationTexas Constitution
WebsiteOfficial Website

The head of the General Land Office is the Texas Land Commissioner, a statewide public official. Since a 1972 constitutional amendment, Texas state-wide officers–including the Commissioner–have been elected every four years, prior to which they were elected every two years. The current land commissioner is Dawn Buckingham, who was elected on 8 November 2022.

Land Commissioners by party affiliation (since statehood)
Party Land Commissioner
Democratic 20
Republican 6
Land Commissioners in chronological order, showing party affiliation
No. Image Name Term of service Political party
1 John P. Borden August 23, 1837 – December 12, 1840[10]
2 (interim)[a] H. W. Raglin December 12, 1840 – January 4, 1841[11]
3 Thomas W. Ward January 4, 1841 – March 20, 1848[12]
The Republic of Texas is admitted into the United States as the State of Texas (December 29, 1845)
4 George W. Smyth March 20, 1848 – August 4, 1851
Defeated Ward in 1848 election 		Democratic
5[b] Stephen Crosby August 4, 1851 – March 1, 1858[11] Democratic
6[c] Francis M. White March 1, 1858 – March 1, 1862[11] Democratic
5 Stephen Crosby March 1, 1862 – September 1, 1865[11] Democratic
6 Francis M. White September 1, 1865 – August 7, 1866[11] Democratic
5 Stephen Crosby August 7, 1866 – August 27, 1867[11]
Removed from office by Reconstruction military government 		Democratic
7 Joseph Spence August 27, 1867 – January 19, 1870[11] Republican[13]
8 Jacob Kuechler January 19, 1870 – January 20, 1874[11] Republican
9 Johann J. Groos January 20, 1874 – June 15, 1878[11]
Died in office 		Democratic
10 W. C. Walsh June 15, 1878 – January 10, 1887[11]
Appointed by Governor Richard B. Hubbard to remainder of Groos' term[14] 		Democratic
11 Richard M. Hall January 10, 1887 – January 16, 1891[11] Democratic[15]
12 W. L. McGaughey January 16, 1891 – January 16, 1895[11] Democratic[16]
13 Andrew J. Baker January 15, 1895 – January 16, 1899[11] Democratic[17]
14 George W. Finger January 16, 1899 – May 4, 1899[11]
Died in office[18] 		Democratic
15 Charles Rogan May 15, 1899 – January 10, 1903[11]
Appointed by Governor Joseph Sayers to replace Finger; subsequently elected[19] 		Democratic
16 John J. Terrell January 10, 1903 – January 11, 1909[11] Democratic
17 James T. Robison January 11, 1909 – September 8, 1929[20]
Died in office 		Democratic
18 J. H. Walker September 12, 1929 – January 1, 1937[11]
Appointed by Governor Dan Moody to replace Robison; elected in 1930; re-elected in 1932 and 1934; did not stand in 1936 		Democratic
19 William H. McDonald January 1, 1937 – January 1, 1939[11] Democratic
20 Bascom Giles January 1, 1939 – January 5, 1955[11]
Re-elected in 1954 but failed to take oath of office due to Veterans' Land Board scandal, for which he went on to serve 3 years in prison 		Democratic
21 James Earl Rudder January 5, 1955 – February 1, 1958[11]
Appointed by Governor Alan Shivers to replace Giles; elected in 1956; resigned in 1958 		Democratic
22 Bill Allcorn February 1, 1958 – January 1, 1961[11]
Appointed by Governor Price Daniel to replace Rudder; elected in 1958 		Democratic
23 Jerry Sadler January 1, 1961 – January 1, 1971[11] Democratic
24 Bob Armstrong January 12, 1971 – January 4, 1983 Democratic
25 Garry Mauro January 1, 1983 – January 5, 1999 Democratic
26 David Dewhurst January 19, 1999 – January 21, 2003 Republican
27 Jerry E. Patterson January 21, 2003 – January 2, 2015 Republican
28 George P. Bush January 2, 2015 – January 10, 2023 Republican
29 Dawn Buckingham January 10, 2023 – present Republican

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Locations and Hours". Texas General Land Office. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  2. ^ Satija, Neena (October 28, 2014). "All Eyes on Land Office if George P. Bush Wins". Texas Tribune. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  3. ^ "History of the Texas General Land Office". Texas General Land Office. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  4. ^ "Texas GLO - Community Development & Revitalization". The Texas General Land Office, George P. Bush - Commissioner. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  5. ^ Brown, Beth (26 July 2011). "Control of Alamo Begins to Shift Away From DRT". Texas Tribune. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Welcome to the Texas General Land Office!". Texas General Land Office. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  7. ^ a b Johnson, John G. (15 June 2010). "GENERAL LAND OFFICE". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  8. ^ Joint Resolution for annexing Texas to the United States, J.Res. 8, enacted March 1, 1845, 5 Stat. 797. Joint Resolution for the admission of the state of Texas into the Union, J.Res. 1, enacted December 29, 1845, 9 Stat. 108.
  9. ^ United States v. Louisiana, 363 U.S. 1 (1960)
  10. ^ Todd, William N.; Knape, Gerald (1952). "Borden, John Pettit". Handbook of Texas (Texas State Historical Association). Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Three Centuries on the Land: The Archives of the Texas General Land Office (PDF). Texas General Land Office. 2012. p. 18.
  12. ^ "Ward, Thomas William (1807–1872)". Handbook of Texas (Texas State Historical Association). 1952. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  13. ^ "Spence, Joseph (1826–1894)". Handbook of Texas (Texas State Historical Association). 1952. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  14. ^ "Walsh, William C. (1836–1924)". Handbook of Texas (Texas State Historical Association). 1952. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  15. ^ "Hall, Richard Moore (1851–1917)". Handbook of Texas (Texas State Historical Association). 1952. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  16. ^ "McGaughey, William L. (1837–1912)". Handbook of Texas (Texas State Historical Association). 1952. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  17. ^ "Baker, Andrew Jackson (1842–1912)". Handbook of Texas (Texas State Historical Association). 1952. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  18. ^ "Finger, George W. (1857–1899)". Handbook of Texas (Texas State Historical Association). 1952. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  19. ^ "Rogan, Charles (1858–1932)". Handbook of Texas (Texas State Historical Association). 1952. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  20. ^ Harper, Cecil Jr (1952). "Robison, James Thomas". Handbook of Texas (Texas State Historical Association). Retrieved 2024-02-09.

Notes

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  1. ^ Sources differ in whether they include Raglin in the count of Commissioners, and hence whether they consider Ward to be second or third commissioner; however, the General Land Office's official enumeration includes Raglin in its count
  2. ^ Crosby served three non-consecutive terms as Land Commissioner, but is only counted in the enumeration once
  3. ^ White served two non-consecutive terms as Land Commissioner, but is only counted in the enumeration once
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