Eastham Prison Farm

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Eastham Prison Farm, out here in Houston County. Now, before there was a prison farm, there was a plantation — twelve thousand seven hundred and ninety acres of it. The Eastham family purchased that land in 1891, and it was a serious piece of ground.

Not long after, somebody made a practical arrangement with the Texas State Prison System: lease the property and work it together. The Eastham side brought the seed, the machinery, the tools, and the mules. The state brought the labor.

Come harvest time, the state walked away with sixty percent of the cotton and fifty percent of the sugar cane. That's the kind of deal that kept a lot of fields in business in this part of Texas. That arrangement rolled on until 1915, when Mrs.

Delha Eastham passed away. After her death, the state bought the land outright. Ownership transferred, and the place took on a new identity entirely.

By 1919, Eastham Prison Farm was among the first in the system to put up a maximum security building. That tells you something about the ambitions — and the challenges — on that property. Then in 1920, convict labor erected a state ferry across the Trinity River, connecting into Madison County.

And that ferry didn't just appear — prisoners used picks and shovels to cut into the steep river banks themselves, carving out a road wide enough for wagon travel. Think about that. Steep banks.

Hand tools. The kind of work that doesn't leave much room for complaint. Now, unrest among the prisoners was a real concern, and the marker doesn't dress that up.

What curtailed it was the arrival of a man named O.B. Ellis — a noted penologist and General Manager of the prison system, with Eastham under his watch. Ellis ushered in more progressive treatment of the inmates.

We're talking improved living conditions, improved working conditions, and a whole slate of things that hadn't been there before: a library, a gymnasium, a craft shop, a chapel, and an education program. Whether you call that reform or just good management, it changed the character of the place. Eastham continues to this day as a major part of the state's prison system.

The surrounding community has seen benefits too — improved roads and a source of employment that traces back to that original twelve thousand seven hundred and ninety acres the Eastham family walked onto in 1891. That's a long road from a plantation lease to a cornerstone of Texas corrections — all of it sitting right here in Houston County.

What the marker says

The Eastham family purchased a 12, 790 acre plantation in 1891. Property was leased soon afterward to the Texas State Prison System for farming on a shared basis. The landowner supplied seed, machinery, tools and mules, while the state provided labor to plant, tend and harvest the crops. The state received 60 percent of the cotton and 50 percent of the sugar cane. The state bought the land in 1915 after the death of Mrs. Delha Eastham. Eastham Prison Farm was among the first to construct a maximum security building in 1919. The state ferry, erected in 1920 by convict labor, crossed the Trinity River into Madison County. Prisoners used picks and shovels to cut into the steep river banks to build a road wide enough for wagon travel. Unrest among the prisoners was curtailed when noted penologist O.B. Ellis, General Manager of the prison system including Eastham, ushered in more progressive treatment of the inmates. Advancements included improved living and working conditions, introduction of a library, gymnasium, craft shop and chapel, and an education program. Eastham continues to be a major part of the state's prison system. Community benefits include improved roads and a source of employment.