Steps
- Build the surface chain of title back past the oldest line on the land.
- Search the grantor index under each owner for right-of-way grants, easements and releases.
- Read each grant for its grantee, purpose, width, term and description.
- Follow assignments, mergers and name changes to today's holder.
- Compare the grants with the lines on state pipeline maps and on aerial photographs.
What the record may not show
Old grants indexed under a misspelled name, blanket grants with no route, and lines laid with no grant at all. Each is a finding in its own right.
We are landmen, not attorneys. This page describes the land record in general terms. It is not legal advice, and every matter turns on its own instruments.