The Crockett State School (CSS) was a Texas Youth Commission juvenile correctional facility in Crockett,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. The students at the state school had committed various crimes, including

truancy Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorized, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate absence by a student's own free will and usually does not refer to legitimate excused absences, such as ones related to medic ...

, property crimes and crimes against persons.Crockett State School
." Texas Youth Commission. Retrieved on August 8, 2010. The Crockett State School, located on what was a farm,Crockett State School
"

Handbook of Texas Online The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

. Retrieved on August 8, 2010. is about north of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

.Langsford, Terri.
14-year-old hangs himself at Crockett youth lockup
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

''. March 18, 2009. Retrieved on August 22, 2010.

History

In 1918, the Texas Federation of Colored Women's Clubs (TFCWC) began to petition the state of Texas to create a "state-sponsored home for delinquent girls" and the club would donate the land. A member of the club, Carrie Adams, was very vocal in the need to create a training school for "delinquent black girls." In 1920, the land was purchased by TFCWC. In 1927 the

Texas Legislature The Texas State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a p ...

authorized the establishment youth correctional facility for black girls by the Texas State Board of Control. However, despite the approval, no money was appropriated for the school until 1945. In 1945 the legislature provided funds to build the state school which was first called the Brady State School for Negro Girls. In August 1946 the State Board of Control entered into a lease agreement with the

Federal Government of the United States The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

so the State of Texas could use a former

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

camp in McCulloch County, near Brady. In February 1947 the Brady State School for Negro Girls opened; until the opening of Brady, there were no correctional facilities that admitted black girls. In 1949 the State Youth Development Council took control of the Brady facility. In 1950 the State of Texas moved the black girls' state school to a former farm in Houston County, near Crockett, establishing the Colored Girls Training School at Crockett. The state moved the girls so the state could cut costs and so the girls could be closer to an African-American population. In 1957 the state school was placed under the control of the Texas Youth Council (now the Texas Youth Commission). The state school was integrated in 1966, and so its name changed to Crockett State School for Girls. The juvenile facility closed in 1972. The facility, renamed to the Crockett State Home on December 13, 1973, was then used as a house and educational center for dependent and neglected children. In 1975 the youth home operations stopped, and the Crockett State School re-opened as a juvenile correctional facility for boys. In 1979 the Gatesville State School closed, and Crockett took some students previously at Gatesville.Gatesville State School for Boys
" ''

Handbook of Texas The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

''. Retrieved on July 23, 2010. On Monday March 16, 2009, a 14-year-old boy incarcerated in Crockett hanged himself with his underwear in his room. On June 3, 2011, the TYC announced that the facility would close by August 31, 2011, due to budget cuts.TYC Announces Closure of Three Facilities
." Texas Youth Commission. Retrieved on July 3, 2011.

References

External links

Crockett State School
- Texas Youth Commission * {{coord, 31, 17, 51, N, 95, 28, 17, W, scale:10000, display=title Buildings and structures in Houston County, Texas Juvenile detention centers in Texas Educational institutions established in 1950 1950 establishments in Texas 2011 disestablishments in Texas