A mineral resource survey of Texas has been started by the Works Progress Administration, with the Bureau of Economic Geology of The University of Texas acting as sponsor. The purpose of the survey is to assemble information and make it available to the public. Through a separate project, sponsored by the State Planning Board, the results of the survey, as they are received in Austin, are being assembled for publication.

The principal natural mineral resources of Leon County consist of sand, clay, sandstone, gravel (both iron ore and river gravel), lignite, and natural gas. Natural gas is obtained from wells drilled 5,000 to 6,000 feet deep in the vicinity of a salt dome near Midway School and community, about 8 miles north-northeast of the county seat, Centerville.

Houston County is located geographically in the center of east Texas. Physiographically, it is located in the Red Lands, according to Deussen (I), of the west Gulf Coastal Plains section of the Coastal Plains province of the Atlantic Plain division. The county consists of a land area of 762,752 acres or about 1,192 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Anderson County, on the northeast by Cherokee County, on the east by Angelina County, on the southeast by Trinity County, on the southwest by Madison County, and on the west by Leon County.

This mineral resource survey circular contains a resume of the results of a mineral resource survey of Bastrop County. The final reports and maps may be consulted, if more detailed information is desired, at the Bureau of Economic Geology, located at Main Campus, Geology Building, UT-Austin, Texas. The mineral resources examined are building stone, clay, lignite, and gravel. Additional information is given on geologic structure, river terraces, fossil localities, and water sands.