Upshur County, Texas
Sell Mineral Rights in Upshur County, Texas
Cotton Valley and Travis Peak production with steady small-operator activity.
Producing formations: Cotton Valley, Travis Peak
Where Upshur 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 Upshur County
April 26, 1931, the northern edge
Upshur County marks where the East Texas Field runs out to the north. The wells came in fast, peaked inside seven years, and then the county did something most of its neighbors did not: it found a second act thirty years later, in a deeper formation.
The Mudge Oil Company's J. D. Richardson No. 1
On April 26, 1931, six months after the discovery well down in Rusk County, the Mudge Oil Company's J. D. Richardson No. 1 struck oil in Upshur County. It established the northern reach of the East Texas Field.
By May 1931, the following month, twelve wells were producing. That pace is worth sitting with. About five weeks from first oil to a dozen wells, in a rural county in the second year of the Great Depression.
Peak, and the long slide
Production climbed to more than 12 million barrels a year by 1938, and the money built roads, schools and public buildings across the county.
Then it fell, steadily and for decades: about 9 million barrels in 1944, 6 million in 1948, and under 3 million by 1956. This is the classic shape of an East Texas oil county, an enormous, fast peak followed by a seventy-year tail.
1964: gas at Diana
The second act came in 1964, when natural gas was found near Diana in the Cotton Valley formation, thousands of feet below the Woodbine oil that made the county's name.
That discovery is the reason Upshur County still has an active oil and gas industry rather than just a history of one. Tanos Exploration IV is among the operators here now.
What to know if you own here
- Two eras, two depths, two sets of paper. A tract here may have a 1931 oil lease and a 1960s-or-later gas lease, or a single old lease covering everything. Which it is determines whether the deep rights are open.
- The oil interests are ninety-five years old. Four generations of inheritance, frequently without probate.
- A declining oil stream is still a stream. Upshur wells have been declining since 1938 and many are still making oil, which is what pressure maintenance in the East Texas Field bought everyone.
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 Upshur County
These operators have filed permits or completions in Upshur County with the Railroad Commission. If your check comes from one of them, we already know the wells.
- Tanos Exploration IV
What we buy in Upshur 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
Upshur County questions
What formations produce in Upshur County?
The producing formations we track in Upshur 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 Upshur County?
Operators that have filed permits or completions in Upshur County with the Texas Railroad Commission include Tanos Exploration IV. 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 Upshur County?
Two eras, two depths, two sets of paper. A tract here may have a 1931 oil lease and a 1960s-or-later gas lease, or a single old lease covering everything. Which it is determines whether the deep rights are open. The oil interests are ninety-five years old. Four generations of inheritance, frequently without probate. A declining oil stream is still a stream. Upshur wells have been declining since 1938 and many are still making oil, which is what pressure maintenance in the East Texas Field bought everyone. 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 Upshur County: Camp County, Marion County, Harrison County, Gregg County, Smith County and Wood County.
Other counties we buy in
Own minerals next door too? We also buy in the counties that border Upshur County: Camp County, Marion County, Harrison County, Gregg County, Smith County, Wood County.