"they bought it for $12,000 in 1970."
How do you know that they did this? Is this an approximation based on family lore?
You will want to do whatever research you need to do to determine the date of sale and the cost of sale. I say this because if the IRS does not accept your evidence, then they can set the basis to zero and charge you for the entire gain.
Contact whoever in your state handles land records and transactions. You may have to spend an afternoon at the County Records Office (in Texas, anyway) looking this up. You will not be the first person to have to do this.
Every penny you can reasonably demonstrate as part of the original cost is a penny you won't have to report as income.
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