Timeline
1843 Earlier form of Imperial Sugar Company founded
1861-1865 American Civil War
1863 Emancipation Proclamation issued
1865 Thirteenth Amendment officially ends slavery or indentured servitude, “except as a punishment for crime”
1867 Convict leasing begins in Texas
1880s Peak of convict leasing
1908 Modern Imperial Sugar founded
1909 Imperial State Prison Farm opened
1910 Resolution to end convict leasing in Texas
1912 Official end of convict leasing in Texas
ca. 1916 Imperial Sugar ends use of convict leasing after state grandfathers the company into the new system
1930 Imperial State Prison Farm renamed Central State Prison Farm
1959 City of Sugar Land incorporated
early 2000s Texas Slave Descendants’ Society (TSDS) formed
2002 UH Sugar Land campus founded
2005 Newland Communities breaks ground on Telfair
2009 The Houston Museum of Natural Science in Sugar Land opened in the Main Unit of the Central State Prison Farm
2010 Imperial Prison Farm Cemetery nominated to be archeological landmark by
Reginald Moore
2011 Central State Prison Farm closed
2013 Reginald Moore lobbies City of Sugar Land concerning bond issue
2017 Reginald Moore lobbies Texas Historical Commission regarding planned construction by Fort Bend ISD in the area near the Imperial Prison Farm Cemetery. Texas Historical Commission then lobbied for an archaeologist to be present onsite, with a careful ye for possible unmarked prisoner graves.
2018 April construction by Fort Bend ISD uncovered 95 graves in the area.
2018 In July, forensic reports confirm the bodies were those of African-American males (and one femail) dating from circa 1878-1910. Chains and other artifacts associated with this prison labor system were also discovered. These are believed to be victims of Sugar Land's convict leasing system.