Daily AncestorLabor
A labor (said lah-BOR) was a Spanish land unit of about 177 acres, a million square varas, granted in Texas for farming.
Under the Mexican colonization law that brought the first settlers into Stephen F. Austin's colony, heads of families who farmed received a labor of land, and those who raised cattle received a league. Most settlers did both and received a league and a labor.
In a Texas grant or deed, labor is the land unit, not work. A labor was 1,000 varas square, or the same area in another shape.
As seen in a recordMexican land grant, Texas, 1820s
granted to Elias Mabry one labor of land for farming
Sources
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Daily Ancestor. "Labor." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/money-measures/labor-land. Last checked 2026-10-03.