WVLandcheck: see both halves of the story

Buying land in West Virginia? See both halves of the story.

In West Virginia, surface rights and mineral rights were often separated decades, or even a century, ago. A listing sheet shows you the trees, the views and the pasture. Public state maps hold a second story underground: historic oil and gas wells, horizontal shale lines and old coal seams.

And anyone who has shopped for rural land knows how hard it is just to work out where public water, sewer and electric power actually reach.

So we pulled West Virginia’s scattered public maps into one clean place, and added an optional AI translator that turns those technical layers into a short, plain-English buyer briefing. You walk in informed.

Above groundParcel lines, water, sewer, power reach, floodplain

Below groundGas wells, shale laterals, coal mining

Look up a piece of land

Paste a listing link, or type an address, coordinates or tax parcel ID.

Vacant land listed as “0 Some Road”? Add the acreage from the listing and we will look for the closest-sized parcel near that road. Links from Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin and LandWatch are read on your device; we never contact those sites.

Selected parcelActive wellPlugged / other wellAbandoned wellOlder well recordShale lateralCoal miningWater mainSewer mainNearest building100-year floodplain

Tap any neighboring parcel, or any spot on the map, to switch lots.

The parcel

Search above, or tap the map, to pick a parcel. Nothing is looked up until you do.

Below ground

Wells, shale laterals and coal mining will appear here.

Above ground

Water, sewer, power reach and floodplain will appear here.

Plain-English briefing

Heads Up — Generative AI Can Make Things Up: This summary is written automatically by generative AI translating approximate public map layers. Generative AI models can misread numbers, misstate rules, or hallucinate (‘make up’) details that are not true, and public GIS lines (especially simulated utility distances based on nearby buildings, tax parcel boundaries, and historic mine/well locations) are rough approximations—not surveys or engineering maps. Do not rely on this tool for purchasing, financial, title, engineering, or legal decisions. Always call Miss Utility (811), contact local utility providers directly to verify service availability and hookup costs, and hire a qualified West Virginia real estate or mineral attorney to examine County Clerk Deed, Lease, and Release Books (including Schedule B-II mineral exceptions) before buying land.

Good things to know

Why Surface & Minerals Are Separated in WV

For well over a century, West Virginia landowners have been able to sell or keep the coal, oil and gas under their land separately from the surface. Many did. The result is that the person selling you the land may own only the surface.

A well or an old mine on this map does not tell you who owns the minerals today. Only the deed records can answer that.

What Title Insurance Schedule B-II Leaves Out

A title commitment lists exceptions, usually in Schedule B, Part II. These are things the policy will not cover. Mineral rights, old leases and rights of way are commonly listed there as exceptions.

Read that section before closing and ask the attorney what each exception means for this parcel.

How Utility Reach Is Estimated Here

Water and sewer lines come from a statewide map kept for the WV Water Development Authority. It is a planning map and can be incomplete or out of date.

Power companies do not publish maps of their local lines. As a rough stand-in, we measure the distance to the nearest mapped building. A building is not proof of power, and it says nothing about hookup cost. Call the utility.

Where Official County Deed, Lease & Release Books Live

Deeds, leases and releases are recorded with the County Clerk in the county where the land sits. Many counties offer online index searches; some records exist only on paper at the courthouse.

A West Virginia real estate or mineral attorney can search those books and tell you what was reserved or leased, and when.