The Hilltop Unit is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison for women located in Gatesville , Texas . Originally opened in September of 1981 as a Male first offender Unit, it is headed by Warden Jerry Gunnels. Hackberry School was the first opened then in October Sycamore was opened and housed SAT IV Construction inmates who were working on Gatesville Unit and Hilltop repairing and buildings and facilities. Until May 1982, when the Hilltop Unit proper was opened.
21-561: It is located on Business Texas State Highway 36 , 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Downtown Gatesville. Hilltop sites on an approximately 1,317-acre (533 ha) plot of land and is co-located with the Crain , Murray , and Woodman units. The Hilltop Unit uses buildings from the former Gatesville State School , making the Hilltop Unit's prison facility the third oldest facility still-used in Texas after
42-428: A replacement for part of SH 36, which was rerouted. On August 21, 1923, the route had been renumbered as SH 69 . An alternate routing just south of Temple, serving the town of Heidenheimer , was designated on May 25, 1925. A new SH 36A was designated on September 18, 1929, from Temple to Valley Mills . On March 19, 1930, it was renumbered as SH 153 (now SH 317 ). The alternate route of SH 36 through Heidenheimer
63-414: Is a 4.696-mile (7.557 km) long business loop that runs on the former routing of SH 36 through Gatesville . The road was bypassed on April 18, 1986, by SH 36 and designated Loop 452. The road was redesignated as Business SH 36-E on June 21, 1990. Business State Highway 36-J (Bus. SH 36-J) , formerly Loop 283, is a 3.832-mile (6.167 km) long business loop that runs on
84-476: Is located across Business Highway 36. Hilltop houses a program for female young offenders, located in the main Hilltop school. As of 2002 about 15 girls are in the program. The Hackberry Unit houses a Parole Modification and a Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility. Hackberry is no longer part of the Hilltop Unit. Texas State Highway 36 State Highway 36 ( SH 36 ) runs from Freeport to Abilene . It
105-423: Is usually used as a reliever route for local traffic between the two cities, as opposed to I-20 a few miles to the south. SH 191 begins at an intersection with Spur 450 in western Odessa, just short of SH 302 and Loop 338 . The highway runs east along 42nd Street, soon crossing U.S. Highway 385 (US 385). In the eastern part of the city, SH 191 crosses by Music City Mall and
126-890: The Huntsville Unit and the Jester I Unit . The Hilltop Unit was formed from the Hackberry and Hilltop units of the Gatesville State School , a juvenile detention facility that closed in 1979. The Live Oak, Riverside, Sycamore, Riverside, Terrace, and Valley schools of the Gatesville State School became the Gatesville Unit (now the Christina Crain Unit ). The unit, which opened in April 1981, originally housed men. The unit
147-544: The Coalition, the new highway would be limited access (along with improvements to the existing Highway 36 between Freeport and Pleak) and provide a western bypass of the Greater Houston area (as well as a new hurricane evacuation corridor). Texas State Highway 191 State Highway 191 ( SH 191 ) is a Texas state highway running from the north side of Odessa east to the western edge of Midland . The highway
168-584: The University of Texas at the Permian Basin and picks up freeway status at the eastern leg of Loop 338. The highway passes through mostly rural land, with some subdivisions nearby. The highway exits the Odessa city limits and enters into Midland County . SH 191 crosses SH 349 just north of Midland International Airport and enters into Midland . A few miles to the northeast of here, SH 158 joins
189-424: The former Gatesville State School was built in. The Texas Building of Hilltop Unit was formerly Ferguson Hall; its current name stems from the concrete letters, colored in red, white, and blue, spelling "TEXAS." The Texas Building's first floor has classrooms and a library. The upstairs has an auditorium and a walled-in projection room. A cemetery containing graves of children of the former state school who died there
210-595: The former routing of SH 36 through Brenham . The road was bypassed on June 4, 1964, and designated Loop 283. The road was designated as Business SH 36-J on June 21, 1990. A group calling itself the Highway 36A Coalition has proposed a new highway (tentatively titled Highway 36A) which would run between SH 36 at Pleak and another planned route in Waller County (the proposed Prairie Parkway), ultimately connecting to SH 6 north of Hempstead. According to
231-403: The highway, with the two running together until Loop 250 , where SH 191 ends, but the mainlanes continues east into the city as a business route of SH 158. SH 191 was originally designated on November 28, 1932, on a route from Albany south to Coleman . On July 15, 1935, SH 191 was cancelled. On February 21, 1937, the section south of SH 36 was restored, and the remainder
SECTION 10
#1732852508031252-419: The intercounty highway was extended to Brenham . On March 20, 1918, SH 36 was designated as a route from Goldthwaite to Hearne . On January 23, 1919, SH 36 was extended to Richmond , and the old route had been changed to SH 36A. On March 19, 1919, SH 36 was extended to Freeport. On August 21, 1923, the sections from Temple to Goldthwaite and Richmond to Freeport were cancelled. On January 16, 1928, SH 36
273-483: The pre-service and in-service area training facilities. Hilltop is the center of vehicle maintenance and repair work, and it serves as the area fuel depot. The exteriors of the Hilltop buildings have bright white paint; the TDCJ says that the buildings "sparkle like white diamonds when the light is right." Many building interiors have moldings dating from the 1890s. Some staircases are topped by pressed tin ceilings from era that
294-426: The section from Cross Plains to Comanche was cancelled. On January 21, 1936, the section from Abilene to Cross Plains was cancelled. Later that year, the section from Temple to Gatesville was cancelled. On September 22, 1936, the section from Abilene to SH 191 was restored. On February 11, 1937, the sections from Temple to a lateral road (now SH 317) and from Rising Star to Comanche were restored. On April 28, 1937,
315-466: The section from Rising Star to Comanche was cancelled again, but the section from the lateral road to Gatesville was restored. On May 18, 1937, the section from the lateral road to Gatesville was cancelled again, but the section from Rising Star to Comanche was restored. On November 5, 1937, the section from the lateral road to Gatesville was restored again. On January 6, 1939, SH 36 had been rerouted on its current route south of Temple. On August 31, 1939,
336-478: The section from SH 191 to Rising Star was restored, but the section from Rising Star to northwest of Comanche was cancelled. On December 10, 1946, the section from Rising Star to northwest of Comanche was restored. Only minor route changes to bypass Brenham on June 4, 1964, Temple on January 24, 1978, and Freeport on January 28, 1985 were made. SH 36A was a spur route of SH 36 designated on January 23, 1919, splitting off at Cameron and traveling east to Hearne as
357-494: Was changed to SH 36A that day. On August 27, 1935, the route had been renumbered SH 221 . SH 36B was a spur route of the original routing of SH 36 designated on July 20, 1920, splitting off at Lampasas and travelling southeast to Georgetown . On January 15, 1923, it was extended to Brady . On August 21, 1923, it had been renumbered as SH 74 (now US 190 and US 183). SH 36 has two business routes . Business State Highway 36-E (Bus. SH 36-E) , formerly Loop 452,
378-503: Was designated as the 36th Division Memorial Highway between Cameron and Sealy by the Texas Legislature in 1985. SH 36 was originally proposed on November 21, 1917, as a route from Cisco to Waco . On December 20, 1917, this became part of SH 18 . On November 20, 1917, an intercounty highway was designated from Goldthwaite to Temple. On January 24, 1918, the intercounty highway was extended to Cameron . On March 18, 1918,
399-458: Was extended back to Freeport. On September 19, 1929, SH 36 was extended northwest to Hamilton. On December 18, 1932, the route was extended to Rising Star , with the section from Hamilton to Comanche replacing part of SH 22 . On February 10, 1933, the section from Rising Star to Comanche was cancelled. On July 10, 1933, the route was extended to its current terminus in Abilene. On October 4, 1935,
420-568: Was named "Hilltop" because the prison is in the highest point of the surrounding area. Hilltop is the hub of the six prisons in Gatesville. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) described it as "a true prison farm " that "fittingly serves as the headquarters for the area’s agricultural operations." The unit has pigs fed on feeder slabs and sixty horses used by field officers from surrounding prison units. The regional operations and maintenance departments are located at Hilltop. The unit hosts
441-438: Was restored on May 18, 1937. On September 26, 1939, this route had been transferred to US 183 . The current SH 191 was designated on August 31, 1977, from SH 158 southwest to Loop 338 & Spur 492. Spur 492 was designated on June 4, 1970, from Loop 338 westward to Grandview Avenue, replacing FM 2399 and extending the road 0.5 miles (0.80 km) west. On August 4, 1970, Spur 492
SECTION 20
#1732852508031#30969