Smith County, Texas
Sell Mineral Rights in Smith County, Texas
Tyler sits in the middle of it. Cotton Valley and Travis Peak production, and a lot of owners who moved away a generation ago.
Producing formations: Cotton Valley, Travis Peak
Where Smith County sits
Dry gas country, the Haynesville, Bossier and Cotton Valley run underneath this county. All twenty-three counties we buy in are shaded; click one to open it.
The history of oil and gas in Smith County
Tyler: the city the oil field built an office in
Smith County sits on the western flank of the East Texas Field, and the field reaches into the southeastern part of the county. It got less of the oil than Gregg or Rusk and more of the money, because the companies that ran the field put their offices in Tyler.
1931
Guy V. Lewis completed the first oil well in Smith County in 1931, on the edge of what had just been proven to be the largest field in the country. The fields that followed, Chapel Hill, South Tyler, Mount Sylvan and Sand Flat, filled in around it.
By 1947 cumulative production had reached 98,367,890 barrels.
What oil did to Tyler
The numbers on land value tell the story better than production figures do. Smith County land was assessed at $15.2 million in 1930. By 1940 it was $82.4 million, a five-fold increase during the worst decade of the American economy.
Oil companies and field developers opened offices in Tyler because it was the nearest real city to the field with hotels, banks and a courthouse that worked. Tyler became the white-collar capital of the East Texas oil business without ever being a boom town in the Kilgore sense. It kept its rose gardens and got an oil economy on top of them.
The modern county
The shallow Woodbine oil has been in decline for seventy years. What is worked now is the deeper Cotton Valley and Travis Peak gas section, by operators including Valence Operating and Vess Oil.
What to know if you own here
- A lot of Smith County mineral owners live in Tyler and have for generations. That is unusual, in most of the district the owners left. It also means families here often know more about what they hold than owners elsewhere.
- Edge-of-field ownership is different from center-of-field ownership. Smith County interests on the East Texas Field flank can be thin, and the value may sit in the gas below rather than the oil above.
- 1931 leases here have the same problem as everywhere else in the old field, no Pugh clause, no depth limit, still held.
Sources: Handbook of Texas (Texas State Historical Association) county and field entries; American Oil & Gas Historical Society; Texas Almanac; Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas energy research; Railroad Commission of Texas permit and completion records as published through texas-drilling.com and the weekly drilling reports of the Longview News-Journal and Tyler Morning Telegraph. Verified August 2026.
Who is operating in Smith County
These operators have filed permits or completions in Smith County with the Railroad Commission. If your check comes from one of them, we already know the wells.
- Valence Operating
- Vess Oil
What we buy in Smith County
Mineral rights, royalty interests, overriding royalty, non-participating royalty, non-operated working interest, and non-producing minerals. There is no size limit in either direction. We buy a single interest in one unit and we buy whole family positions.
If your piece feels too small to bother with, call anyway. Small interests in the same tract usually belong to relatives, and we would rather work with the whole family at once.
How an offer gets made
You call or fill out the form. We pull the county records, the appraisal district roll and the Railroad Commission production history ourselves. Within three business days you get a specific cash number in writing and a plain explanation of how we got there. If we think you should hold, we say that too. We cover title, recording and closing, and you keep every royalty check until the day we close.
Call or text (936) 289-3438 Or email offers@longleafmineralco.com
Smith County questions
What formations produce in Smith County?
The producing formations we track in Smith County are the Cotton Valley and Travis Peak. In short: dry gas country. The Haynesville, Bossier and Cotton Valley run underneath this county. Ask your operator or check your division order to see which formation your own check comes from.
Who operates wells in Smith County?
Operators that have filed permits or completions in Smith County with the Texas Railroad Commission include Valence Operating and Vess Oil. If your check comes from one of them, we already know the wells. You can also look up any well yourself in the Railroad Commission's public records.
What should I check before selling minerals in Smith County?
A lot of Smith County mineral owners live in Tyler and have for generations. That is unusual, in most of the district the owners left. It also means families here often know more about what they hold than owners elsewhere. Edge-of-field ownership is different from center-of-field ownership. Smith County interests on the East Texas Field flank can be thin, and the value may sit in the gas below rather than the oil above. 1931 leases here have the same problem as everywhere else in the old field, no Pugh clause, no depth limit, still held. If any of that is unclear, call or text us and we will look it up with you for free. We also buy in the counties that border Smith County: Wood County, Upshur County, Gregg County, Rusk County and Cherokee County.
Other counties we buy in
Own minerals next door too? We also buy in the counties that border Smith County: Wood County, Upshur County, Gregg County, Rusk County, Cherokee County.