I am working on a novel, and the first chapter takes place at Huntsville Unit (Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville, AKA Walls Unit) in 1882. Noted outlaws who were held there during that year include John Wesley Hardin and Jesse Evans.
In 1879, John Wesley Hardin attempted to escape from Walls Unit by boring a hole through the wall into the prison's armory. From there, he planned to arm a small army of fellow conspirators and fight their way out of the prison. Unfortunately for the prisoners, they were caught and stopped before they broke through the wall.
In my (historical fiction) story, I allude to the fact that many African American prisoners were leased out by prisons (including Huntsville) to nearby plantations for cheap forced labor. [The 13th Amendment ended slavery in America, with the crucial exception of convicted criminals. In former slave states, this loophole was used to essentially continue the practice of slavery by using (almost exclusively black) prisoners.]
The story features John Wesley Hardin's escape attempt at Walls Unit. I say that the prisoners involved were punished, but not equally. The few blacks involved were leased out to a nearby plantation for hard labor, but the white conspirators were punished on site rather than being sent away, in order to avoid public criticism from whites.
Is this historically accurate? Were both black and white prisoners held at Huntsville Unit in 1879? If so, is it believable that they would be held in the same part of the prison, and that they might even conspire together on an escape attempt? Many thanks in advance for any help/advice!
The year 1879 was in the midst of Texas’ second convict leasing period following the Civil War. As a result, the population of that prison was not all necessarily sedentary to the unit as you note. But yes, the prison held both Black and white prisoners at this time. And they were not all leased for plantation farming. Some were leased to railroad companies, some to other farmers, and even to industry.
It is also important to note that by 1883, the prisons went back under full state control and the state leased out the prisoners. Much more of this leasing was dedicated to agriculture than leases with the private companies after 1883. Additionally, prior to and after 1883, not every convict was leased out. Some remained at the prison unit to work on other operational needs and projects.
These sources will answer both of your questions at the end, including whether or not housing was integrated, and may provide some additional perspective on convict leasing, which in Texas was a little different than in other states, and Texas’ specific laws that resulted in the high number of Black incarcerations:
Handbook of Texas: Articles on convict leasing and Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville (online, Google handbook of Texas and the article names and they will come up).
This virtual Texas State Library and Archives exhibit.
"All the Vile Passions": The Texas Black Code of 1866, Barry Crouch, The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. 97, No. 1 (Jul., 1993), pp. 12-34 (necessary reading to understand laws passed that resulted in the imprisonment of Blacks for minor crimes, which created labor for the eventual convict leasing system)
Reform versus Reality in the Progressive Era Texas Prison, Theresa R. Jack, The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Jan., 2005), pp. 53-67
Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire, Robert Perkinson, Metropolitan Books, 2010 (this book has your sources on this facility’s early integration).
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