Theirs is a story of a land dispute but it’s also about legacy. About one family wanting to hold on to the investment of generations and another seeking justice over what went missing in the days of Jim Crow. And none of it would have happened but for a shale play that brought oil giants and their hungry interests to town, throwing into question who rightfully owns the 147.5-acre tract.
We wanted to share a fantastic article by Alex Ura at TexasTribune.org that takes a detailed look at a unique mineral rights ownership battle that took place in Karnes County, down in South Texas. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY ON TEXASTRIBUNE.ORG
A few miles southeast of where a two-lane farm road cuts across Highway 80 lies a sliver of land — 147.5 acres, to be exact — holding the stories of two Texas families, one Black and one white.
Karnes County, Texas
For almost 100 years, each family has held a half-interest in the property in northeast Karnes County. One family stayed on it, sinking deep roots and growing its wealth. The other vanished from it, scattering across Texas and beyond, succeeding generations often unaware they owned a share of the scrub-studded parcel.
But within the past 15 years, oil and gas riches have made the land valuable, and descendants of the two families must now reckon with the disparate fortunes found or lost since their ancestors crossed paths here. Doing so means untangling the knots that bind together not just century-old family matters and business deals, but also the racial oppression that so often determined who was allowed to prosper.
On one side are the Korths, a white family considered pioneers of the area, fighting for full ownership of a beloved ranch they believe is theirs. On the other side are the Eckfords: hundreds of descendants of a formerly enslaved couple, trying to reclaim their stake in the land and the lost link to their inheritance. Both families are hoping to share in royalty payouts in Texas that could be worth millions of dollars.
Out on this expanse in the heart of the Eagle Ford Shale, the circumstances surrounding how these acres of scrub and ranchland passed from one family to the other are complex, involving life during a time of overt racism, an insanity trial, a clouded deed of trust and the sale of an estate. All are now under scrutiny as the courts determine whether the Korths effectively divested the Eckfords of their half-interest over the more than seven decades during which the land has been in their possession.
Theirs is a story of a land dispute but it’s also about legacy. About one family wanting to hold on to the investment of generations and another seeking justice over what went missing in the days of Jim Crow.
And none of it would have happened but for a shale play that brought oil giants and their hungry interests to town, throwing into question who rightfully owns the 147.5-acre tract.
