Daily AncestorVara
A vara was the Spanish yard used in Spanish and Mexican land surveys; in Texas it was fixed at 33 1/3 inches.
Texas surveys and land grants measure lines in varas. At 33 1/3 inches, 1,900.8 varas make a mile and 5,645.4 square varas make an acre. A million square varas is a labor, and 25 million a league.
The length was not the same everywhere. In Austin's colony it was first set at 33.4 inches, and other places used about 33 inches in New Mexico and 33.372 in Florida. Texas still uses the vara in state land surveys.
As seen in a recordSurvey field notes, Texas General Land Office, 1840s
Thence north 1,900 vrs. to a stake in the prairie
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Daily Ancestor. "Vara." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/money-measures/vara. Last checked 2026-10-03.