HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
Opened in 1909 on a former sugar plantation, this Sugar Land prison farm housed the electric chair 'Old Sparky' used in 361 executions between 1924 and 1964, and closed in 2011 after 102 years of documented violence, riots, and death.
Hwy 90 Alt, Sugar Land, TX 77498
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Drive-by exterior only; the facility is on former state prison land now in various stages of redevelopment.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Roadside drive-by; no public interior access
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1909 · Site of Texas's 'Old Sparky' electric chair, used in 361 executions 1924-1964 · Operated 102 years as Imperial State Prison Farm and Central Unit (1909-2011) · Core site of Texas convict lease system, documented as predominantly Black workforce · Adjacent to Old Imperial Farm Cemetery where convict-lease prisoners were buried · Closure in 2011 preceded by documented riots and violent incidents
The Imperial State Prison Farm opened in 1909 on Fort Bend County land that had been a sugar cane plantation. From its earliest years, it operated under the convict lease system, in which the State of Texas leased incarcerated people to private interests for forced agricultural labor. According to Click2Houston's February 2026 investigative report on convict leasing in Sugar Land, the prison farm's workforce was overwhelmingly African American — a direct product of post-Reconstruction-era laws and selective enforcement designed to supply plantation-style labor after the formal end of slavery.
The facility was re-designated as the Central Unit as the Texas Department of Corrections expanded in the mid-twentieth century. Beginning in 1924, the Central Unit housed the electric chair used to carry out Texas death sentences — a device that came to be known as 'Old Sparky.' Between 1924 and 1964, when Texas switched to lethal injection as its execution method, Old Sparky was used in 361 executions at the Central Unit. The chair itself was later moved and is now displayed at the Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville.
Over its 102-year operational history, the Central Unit saw documented riots, violent incidents between inmates and guards, and staff-reported suicides. The facility appeared on ghost-hunter interest lists following its closure in 2011, though no formal paranormal investigation program was established at the site.
The 2018 discovery of 95 unmarked graves — identified as predominantly African American prisoners who died under the convict lease era — on adjacent property under a school construction site brought renewed national attention to the Imperial Farm's history. Reporting by Click2Houston in 2026 documented how convict leasing effectively built the infrastructure of modern Sugar Land, generating agricultural and industrial profit through coerced Black labor.
Sources
After the Central Unit closed in 2011, the shuttered buildings drew attention from ghost hunters and paranormal investigators interested in the facility's documented history of executions, violence, and death. Regional coverage documented reports of unexplained sounds from the empty cellblocks, shadow figures seen at windows, and an atmospheric heaviness that investigators attributed to the cumulative weight of deaths at the location across more than a century of operation.
The 361 executions carried out by electric chair between 1924 and 1964 form the most concrete historical anchor for paranormal interest. The convict lease era deaths — documented in the adjacent Old Imperial Farm Cemetery and in the 95 unmarked graves discovered in 2018 — add additional historical context, though the connection between those deaths and any specific paranormal claims at the Central Unit itself is not documented in sources reviewed.
No formal ghost hunt or investigation program operates at the Central Unit. The site is not open to the public, and accounts of activity come from individuals who documented what they reported seeing or hearing from the perimeter of the facility.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
The former Central Unit buildings are visible from Hwy 90 Alt. The site is significant for its connection to the convict lease era, the 102-year span of Texas Department of Corrections history at the location, and its proximity to the Old Imperial Farm Cemetery where prisoners were buried. No trespassing; view from public roadway only.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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Bastrop, TX
The Bastrop County Jail was built in 1892 in a distinctive tan-and-red-brick design and served as the county's primary detention facility until 1974. The structure included a second-floor gallows where at least three people were executed, including one man reputed to have killed thirteen others. The building has since been converted for use as the Bastrop Area Chamber of Commerce.
San Elizario, TX
The building served as a private residence from 1821 to 1848 before becoming El Paso County's official jail in 1850, when San Elizario was the county seat. The Commissioners Court installed a prefabricated iron cell from Chicago capable of holding twelve prisoners. In 1876, during the Salt War period, William H. Bonney — then going by Billy the Kid — arrived before dawn, posed as a Texas Ranger, and freed his companion Melquiades Segura from custody, locking the guards inside. The structure is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.