Imperial Prison Farm Cemetery

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's Prison Unit or in prisoners' hometowns. Later called the Central State Prison Farm and then Central Unit, the prison farm operated here until 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