{"id":465,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:32:54","latitude":30.721692000000000888348949956707656383514404296875,"longitude":-95.5465846000000027515852707438170909881591796875,"title":"Thomas J Goree","subtitle":"","fullsize":"https://easttexashistory.org/files/fullsize/d9d23f08ae9a61c088f72b7d8729b19a.jpg","address":"","all_locations":[],"zoom":10,"creator":["Ashley Atkinson"],"description":"On March 13, 1848, the Texas Legislature created the Walls Unit in Huntsville, Texas. The reasons for choosing Huntsville remain uncertain, though the fact that Sam Houston and other prominent early Texans lived there may have influenced the decision. Early on, the prison used convict leasing to help balance the state budget, but reformers like Thomas J. Goree later questioned the practice. Goree introduced ethical and rehabilitative changes, such as night classes and a library, which have had a profound influence on the prison system. [1]<br />\r\n<br />\r\nWhile reforms by people like Goree were important, it is also necessary to look at why these changes were needed. The evolution of the Texas prison system cannot be understood without considering its historical background formed by the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the end of slavery in the United States. For example, during the Civil War, Texas used inmate labor to reduce incarceration costs. By November 1884, Texas had contracted out over a thousand prisoners to work on farms across East and South Texas as part of the state&#039;s reliance on inmate labor following the end of slavery. The 1871 case Ruffin v. Commonwealth noted that prisoners in Texas were treated as enslaved people until 1846. The introduction of the convict lease system then changed prison economics by leasing prisoners to private companies for railroad and plantation work. These changing policies led to harsh conditions, with many prisoners suffering from hunger, poor medical care, and long work hours in bad weather, no matter their health. Prisoners were harshly punished for any sign of not working hard enough or not finishing their tasks. [2] <br />\r\n<br />\r\nThese abuses were not overlooked. Evidence of harsh prison conditions is found in investigations that uncovered many unmarked graves near prison camps, indicating the deaths of numerous inmates from beatings. Lee Simmons led early reforms in the Texas prison system, which focused on improving prison conditions and increasing staff accountability to reduce escapes. [3]<br />\r\n<br />\r\nContinuing the trend toward reform, as superintendent of the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville, Thomas J. Goree made important changes. After learning about past abuses, he led investigations into mistreatment at convict lease camps. Although the convict lease system generated revenue, its decline in Texas began in 1908 after investigative articles exposed the prison system’s conditions. In 1889, Texas opened a youth facility in Gatesville, the first in the South. These changes have created a lasting mark on the Huntsville community. [4]<br />\r\n<br />\r\nToday, Thomas Goree’s reform work can still be seen in the community. His efforts established the stage for later reforms by administrators like George Beto, who expanded education and rehabilitation programs for prisoners. Goree’s legacy is honored in the prison system, with the Goree Unit named in his honor to recognize his early reforms. These examples show that prisons can move from harsh treatment to a focus on rehabilitation while keeping the public safe. His steady devotion to ethical oversight and reform has produced a lasting impact on the Texas prison system. [5]","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":["[1] Donald Walker, “Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville,” Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association, July 1, 1995, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/texas-state-penitentiary-at-huntsville","[2] Laura Buchanan, “Texas History 101,” Texas Monthly, May 1, 2003, https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/texas-history-101-41/","[3] Donald R. Walker, “The Mess in Mineola: An Account of the Investigations into Conditions in a Prison Work Camp, 1879,” East Texas Historical Journal 50, no. 2 (2012): Article 10","[4] Langston Goree and Deborah Hardin, “Thomas Jewett Goree: Confederate Officer and Prison Reformer,” Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association, June 9, 2020, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/goree-thomas-jewett","[5] Texas State Library and Archives Commission, “Fear, Force, and Leather – Thomas J. Goree,” Texas State Library and Archives Commission, 2016, https://www.tsl.texas.gov/exhibits/prisons/lease/goree.html; Price and Susan Coleman, “Narrative of Neglect: Texas Prisons for Men,” East Texas Historical Journal 49, no. 2 (2011): Article 9"],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://easttexashistory.org/files/fullsize/d9d23f08ae9a61c088f72b7d8729b19a.jpg":{"id":3249,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Thomas J Goree","description":"Thomas J Goree, born on November 14th, 1835, in Marion, Perry County, Alabama. [2] His family moved to Texas in 1850, and settled in Huntsville. [2] He earned his academic and law degree at Baylor, and then at Independence. [2] From there, in 1858, he formed a law partnership with Col. William P. Rogers, and the form then later moved to Houston. [2] In 1861, Goree left his law career to join the Confederate army where he was eventually promoted to captain and served as Longstreet’s aide - de - camp throughout the war. [2] In 1868, he married Elizabeth Thomas Nolley and the couple had five children together. [2] In 1873, the couple returned back to Huntsville and Thomas formed a law partnership with Col. Leonard Anderson Abercombrie. [2] In 1877, Goree was appointed superintendent of the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville, in which he served 14 years. [2] Goree passed away from pneumonia on March 5, 1905, in Galveston, Texas.  | [1] Portman, Evan. 2024. “T.J. Goree during the Seven Days - Emerging Civil War.” Emerging Civil War. September 26, 2024. https://emergingcivilwar.com/2024/09/26/t-j-goree-during-the-seven-days/. <br />\r\n[2] Goree, Langston, and Deborah Hardin. 2020. “Thomas Jewett Goree: Confederate Officer and Prison Reformer.” Texas State Historical Association. June 9, 2020. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/goree-thomas-jewett.","thumbnail":"https://easttexashistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/d9d23f08ae9a61c088f72b7d8729b19a.jpg"},"https://easttexashistory.org/files/fullsize/03a6579cc055db0bc1d3b2c4d13a23d5.jpg":{"id":3250,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Goree Unit","description":"The Thomas J Goree Unit was built in 1907, in honor of Thomas Jewett Goree. [2,3] Originally the unit was called the Goree State Farm, just four miles outside of Huntsville Texas. [4] The farm originally housed only exclusively female inmates. [4] The focus of the farm was agricultural work and garment work. [4] The Goree State Farm, then changed its name to the Goree Unit around the 1980s, and the women inmates were transferred to a former youth facility in Gatesville. [4] Today, the unit is a male inmate unit and houses around 1,231 male inmates. [3] Additionally, the unit features a special program for sex offenders. [3] | [1] Wikipedia Contributors. 2025. “Thomas Goree Unit.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. October 7, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Goree_Unit.<br />\r\n[2] Goree, Langston, and Deborah Hardin. 2020. “Thomas Jewett Goree: Confederate Officer and Prison Reformer.” Texas State Historical Association. June 9, 2020. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/goree-thomas-jewett.<br />\r\n[3] “Unit Directory.” 2023. Texas.gov. 2023. https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/unit_directory/gr.html.<br />\r\n[4] “The Goree State Farm for Women - Texas Prisons | Texas State Library.” 2016. Texas.gov. 2016. https://www.tsl.texas.gov/exhibits/prisons/reform/goree.html.","thumbnail":"https://easttexashistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/03a6579cc055db0bc1d3b2c4d13a23d5.jpg"},"https://easttexashistory.org/files/fullsize/117a549d6c630875258c7964bfc573c7.jpg":{"id":3251,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Convicts and guards of the imperial state farm","description":"This image shows convicts and guards of the imperial state farm, in the 1900s. [1] With the addition of convict leasing camps, the state also began to operate its own farms, which became known as state account. [1] The first of these state accounts was the Wynne farm, which was a 1900 acre spread just two miles from Huntsville. [1] At Wynne, elderly or infirm prisoners would grow corn, vegetables, cotton, and animal fodder for their own use. [1] Then in 1866, the state bought the Harlem sugar plantation, and within a year it was profitable. [1] Then in 1899, the state purchased the William Clemons sugar plantation. [1] And then, in 1908, the state bought three additional projects, Riddick, Imperial, and Ramsey. [1] | [1] “Convict Leasing and State Account Farming (1883-1909) | TSLAC.” 2019. Texas.gov. 2019. https://www.tsl.texas.gov/exhibits/prisons/convictlease/page3.html.","thumbnail":"https://easttexashistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/117a549d6c630875258c7964bfc573c7.jpg"},"https://easttexashistory.org/files/fullsize/1fe9e132233a7a210b63344ba31e9f73.jpg":{"id":3252,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Convicts and a guard at a lease convict camp","description":"This image shows convicts and a guard. While the 13th Amendment abolished slavery, there was an exemption found to fill the labor shortage in the southern states after the war. [1] This system was the prison convict lease system. [1] This system heavily affected African Americans and justice involved individuals were often convicted of petty crimes, such as walking on grass, vagrancy, and stealing food. [1] Even those who were declared innocent, were placed in this system if they could not pay their court fees. [1] Companies and individuals paid leasing fees to state, county, and local governments in exchange for the labor of prisoners in farms, mines, lumber yards, brick yards, manufacturing facilities, factories, railroads, and road construction. [1] | [1] Terrell, Ellen. 2021. “The Convict Leasing System: Slavery in Its Worst Aspects.” Blogs.loc.gov. Library of Congress. June 17, 2021. https://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/2021/06/convict-leasing-system/.","thumbnail":"https://easttexashistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/1fe9e132233a7a210b63344ba31e9f73.jpg"},"https://easttexashistory.org/files/fullsize/98e7a02e0d70d8d0cb067878eeefd2ef.jpg":{"id":3253,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"The Goree Girl All String Band playing at the Texas Prison Rodeo in the 1940s.","description":"This image shows the Goree Girl All String Band playing at the Texas Prison Rodeo in the 1940s. The Goree Girl All String Band, was a band of all female inmates, housed in the Goree Unit, in Huntsville Texas. [1] The group was widely known and were heard weekly on the WBAP radio station, airing across North Texas. [1] The was started by inmate Reable Childs, and she was inspired by the station’s show, “Thirty minutes Behind the Walls,” which gave the audience a peek into the prison system in Texas. [1] The eight women band had singers, acoustic guitars, fiddle, banjo, and a steel guitar. [1] The band played country and western and they were the first all women country band in Texas. [1] However, after they were released from prison, they did not further their musical careers. [1]  | [1] Fanning , Rhonda , and Leah Scarpelli. 2016. “Why a Famous All-Women Prison String Band Faded into Obscurity.” Texas Standard. December 22, 2016. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/why-a-famous-all-women-prison-string-band-faded-into-obscurity/.","thumbnail":"https://easttexashistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/98e7a02e0d70d8d0cb067878eeefd2ef.jpg"}}}