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Sugar Land in Fort Bend County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
 

Imperial Prison Farm Cemetery

 
 
Imperial Prison Farm Cemetery Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By James Hulse, September 14, 2020
1. Imperial Prison Farm Cemetery Marker
Inscription.

Prior to the Civil War, this rich river bottom land was known for its cotton, corn and sugar cane crops and sugar mill. With the emancipation of slaves in 1865, area plantation owners struggled to work the fields and mill. In 1878, landowners L.A. Ellis and E.H. Cunningham negotiated a lease with the State of Texas to open a private prison, leasing convicts for labor. Five years later, the state gained control over the prison and inmates.

Sugar trade thrived here, and in 1908, I.H. Kempner and W.T. Eldridge bought the small town of Sugar Land, created the Imperial Sugar Company and a stable company town and workforce. Also in 1908, the State of Texas purchased 5,235 acres of adjoining land and started the Imperial State Prison Farm. With more than 400 inmates, it was one of Texas first state-run prisons. Once dubbed the "Hellhole on the Brazos", this and other Texas Prisons became notorious for deplorable inmate treatment and living conditions before public outcry forced reforms in 1912.

The cemetery has 31 marked graves of inmates and guards, dating (1912-1943) some with graphic descriptions of their deaths. By the late 1940s, all Texas inmates were buried at Huntsville Prison Unit or in prisoners' hometowns. Later called the Central State Prison Farm and then Central Unit, the prison farm operated here until
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2011 when the state sold part of its land for a new housing development. The city of Sugar Land purchased 65 acres, including the cemetery, for parkland and to ensure the preservation of the cemetery. A white cross, surrounded by prisoner-made bricks, stands in the center of the cemetery; the gate and some sections of the fence are original.
Historic Texas Cemetery - 2007
Marker is property of the State of Texas

 
Erected 2007 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 18089.)
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: AgricultureCemeteries & Burial SitesLaw Enforcement. A significant historical year for this entry is 1865.
 
Location. 29° 36.293′ N, 95° 39.47′ W. Marker is in Sugar Land, Texas, in Fort Bend County. Marker is at the intersection of Easton Avenue and Anfield Way, on the left when traveling south on Easton Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6440 Easton Avenue, Sugar Land TX 77479, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Texas Prison System Central State Farm Main Building (approx. 0.3 miles away); Sugar Land Refinery (approx. 1.7 miles away); Sugar Land High School World War II Memorial (approx. 2 miles away); In Honor of Lonnie Green (approx.
Imperial Prison Farm Cemetery and Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By James Hulse, September 14, 2020
2. Imperial Prison Farm Cemetery and Marker
2.1 miles away); Sugar Land Independent School District No. 17 (approx. 2.1 miles away); Hodge's Bend Cemetery (approx. 2˝ miles away); Sugar Land First United Methodist Church (approx. 2.9 miles away); Paschal Paolo Borden (approx. 4.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sugar Land.
 
Also see . . .  Central Unit History. Wikipedia (Submitted on October 12, 2020, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.) 
 
White cross at the center of the cemetery image. Click for full size.
Photographed By James Hulse, September 14, 2020
3. White cross at the center of the cemetery
Prisoners made the red bricks around the flag pole.
Front gate to the Imperial Farm Cemetery. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By James Hulse, September 14, 2020
4. Front gate to the Imperial Farm Cemetery.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on October 12, 2020. It was originally submitted on October 12, 2020, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 760 times since then and 50 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 12, 2020, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 28, 2024