Libraries Present Online Program On History Of Prisoner-Lease System In Texas

Dr. Theresa Jach

Fort Bend County Libraries will present a special online program, “The Prisoner-Lease System in Texas,” on Tuesday, April 20, from 3:00 to 4:30 pm. This program will be live-streamed via Webex; it will NOT be in person.

Dr. Theresa Jach, a history professor at Houston Community College, will talk about the history of convict leasing in Texas and in other southern states between 1867 and 1912. She will also talk about the shift to state-owned prison farms and the Texas prison-farm system, with particular focus on Fort Bend County. Hear about the status of the graves found on the Fort Bend ISD property in Sugar Land.

Dr. Jach is the author of Incarcerated Women (2017) and Huntsville Penitentiary (2013), and she has also written articles on the history of the Texas prison system.

The program is free and open to the public. Registration is required. A link to view the presentation online will be emailed to all participants who register. To register online at the library’s website (www.fortbend.lib.tx.us), click on “Classes & Events,” select “Virtual Programs,” and find the program. Participants may also register by calling the library system’s Communications Office at 281-633-4734.