On January 26, 1839, 50 leagues (approximately 220,000 acres) of land were set aside from the public domain by the Republic of Texas for the establishment and endowment of a university. The Constitutional Convention of 1875 appropriated one million acres of land for the establishment of a permanent university fund ("PUF"). An additional one million acres was added to the PUF in 1883. All these lands constitute the bulk of what is commonly referred to as University Lands, now totaling 2.1 million acres and located in 24 counties: Andrews, Callahan, Cooke, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, Dawson, Ector, El Paso, Gaines, Hudspeth, Irion, Lamar, Loving, Martin, McLennan, Pecos, Reagan, Schleicher, Schackelford, Terrell, Upton, Ward and Winkler.
Oil was first discovered on University Lands in 1923 with the completion of Santa Rita No. 1 in Reagan County. Since this beginning, University Lands have generated billions of dollars in oil and gas royalties, bonuses and rental for deposit to the PUF. Investment income from the PUF, which is shared by The University of Texas System and Texas A&M University System, is used to finance construction, renovations, major library acquisitions, significant educational and research equipment and academic excellence programs.
Most of the surface acres of University Lands are leased for grazing purposes, but also include experimental vinyards with more than 1,000 acres of University Lands in grape production.