Gainesville State School
Encyclopedia
The Gainesville State School is a juvenile correctional facility of the Texas Youth Commission
in unincorporated
Cooke County
, Texas
, near Gainesville
. The fenced, maximum security state school is located on a 160 acres (64.7 ha) tract east of Gatesville, 75 miles (120.7 km) north of Dallas
, along Farm to Market Road 678 and near Interstate 35
. Gainesville is a maximum security facility and is fenced.
authorized the establishment of the state school and dedicated $35,000 to its construction. In 1948 the state school was renamed the Gainesville State School for Girls. The state school's size increased from 100 acres (40.5 ha) to 160 acre (0.6474976 km²). The 55th Texas Legislature transferred the Gainesville State School to the Texas Youth Council (now Texas Youth Commission) from the Texas Board of Control. In 1974 the school became a coeducational juvenile correctional facility. In 1979 the Gatesville State School
closed, and Gainesville took some students previously at Gatesville. In 1988 the facility began to only house boys. In 1997 Gainesville was a TYC facility for nonviolent offenders.
.
Gainesville State School also has a friendly rivalry with Faith Christian School (Texas)
. Rick Riley wrote an article for ESPN about one of the games between Gainesville State and Faith Christian.
of the United States Department of Justice
so the juvenile detention center could provide art instruction to state school students.
Gainesville State School students Orlando Contreras and Felipe O'Campo, under the supervision of professional artist Tina Blytas, created a multicultural mural posted within the state school facility. The mural depicts the Statue of Liberty
, an Aztec calendar, a leopard symbolizing Africa
, and chained hands breaking free that represent the emancipation of slaves. The people depicted in the mural include Bessie Coleman
, John F. Kennedy
, Martin Luther King, Jr.
, Selena
, and Emiliano Zapata
. The bottom of the mural depicts the six flags over Texas
.
In addition Gainesville students, under the direction of Judy Peele, the fine arts coordinator, created a Hispanic Culture Mural to depict Hispanic culture in the past and present. The mural includes an Aztec warrior in ceremonial headdress, Emiliano Zapata, and "El Castillo," a temple representing the architecture of the Aztecs.
Texas Youth Commission
The Texas Youth Commission is a Texas state agency which operates juvenile corrections facilities in the state. The commission is headquartered in the Brown-Heatly Building in Austin...
in unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
Cooke County
Cooke County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 36,363 people, 13,643 households, and 10,000 families residing in the county. The population density was 42 people per square mile . There were 15,061 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, near Gainesville
Gainesville, Texas
Gainesville is a city in and the county seat of Cooke County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,538 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. The fenced, maximum security state school is located on a 160 acres (64.7 ha) tract east of Gatesville, 75 miles (120.7 km) north of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, along Farm to Market Road 678 and near Interstate 35
Interstate 35
Interstate 35 is a north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. I-35 stretches from Laredo, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border to Duluth, Minnesota, at Minnesota Highway 61 and 26th Avenue East. Many interstates used to have splits or spurs indicated with suffixed letters , but I-35...
. Gainesville is a maximum security facility and is fenced.
History
The facility, originally the Texas State Training School for Girls, was established in 1913 and opened in September 1916. The 33rd Texas LegislatureTexas Legislature
The Legislature of the state of Texas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The Legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin...
authorized the establishment of the state school and dedicated $35,000 to its construction. In 1948 the state school was renamed the Gainesville State School for Girls. The state school's size increased from 100 acres (40.5 ha) to 160 acre (0.6474976 km²). The 55th Texas Legislature transferred the Gainesville State School to the Texas Youth Council (now Texas Youth Commission) from the Texas Board of Control. In 1974 the school became a coeducational juvenile correctional facility. In 1979 the Gatesville State School
Gatesville State School
The Gatesville State School for Boys was a juvenile corrections facility in Gatesville, Texas. The facility was converted into two prisons for adults, the Christina Crain Unit , and the Hilltop Unit.-History:...
closed, and Gainesville took some students previously at Gatesville. In 1988 the facility began to only house boys. In 1997 Gainesville was a TYC facility for nonviolent offenders.
Athletics
The school has an American football sports team, the Tornadoes, which accepts low-risk juvenile delinquents. In 1997 Gainesville's main rival was Giddings State SchoolGiddings State School
Giddings State School is a juvenile correctional facility of the Texas Youth Commission located in unincorporated Lee County, Texas, near Giddings. As of 2004 the state school was Lee County's largest employer.-History:...
.
Gainesville State School also has a friendly rivalry with Faith Christian School (Texas)
Faith Christian School (Texas)
Faith Christian School is a private school in Grapevine, Texas, U.S.A.-Athletics:FCS participates as a member of TAPPS.FCS has maintained a "rivalry" with the Gainesville State School, a Texas Youth Commission maximum-security juvenile detention facility...
. Rick Riley wrote an article for ESPN about one of the games between Gainesville State and Faith Christian.
Artwork
The facility includes the Gainesville State School Fine Arts Academy. In 1999 the state school received a two year, $198,000 grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency PreventionOffice of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is an office of the United States Department of Justice and a component of the Office of Justice Programs....
of the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
so the juvenile detention center could provide art instruction to state school students.
Gainesville State School students Orlando Contreras and Felipe O'Campo, under the supervision of professional artist Tina Blytas, created a multicultural mural posted within the state school facility. The mural depicts the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
, an Aztec calendar, a leopard symbolizing Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and chained hands breaking free that represent the emancipation of slaves. The people depicted in the mural include Bessie Coleman
Bessie Coleman
Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman was an American civil aviator. She was the first female pilot of African American descent and the first person of African American descent to hold an international pilot license.-Early life:...
, John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
, Selena
Selena
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez , known simply as Selena, was a Mexican American singer-songwriter. She was named the "top Latin artist of the '90s" and "Best selling Latin artist of the decade" by Billboard for her fourteen top-ten singles in the Top Latin Songs chart, including seven number-one hits...
, and Emiliano Zapata
Emiliano Zapata
Emiliano Zapata Salazar was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, which broke out in 1910, and which was initially directed against the president Porfirio Díaz. He formed and commanded an important revolutionary force, the Liberation Army of the South, during the Mexican Revolution...
. The bottom of the mural depicts the six flags over Texas
Six flags over Texas
Six Flags Over Texas is the slogan used to describe the six nations that have had sovereignty over some or all of the current territory of the U.S. state of Texas. This slogan has been incorporated into shopping malls, theme parks , and other enterprises...
.
In addition Gainesville students, under the direction of Judy Peele, the fine arts coordinator, created a Hispanic Culture Mural to depict Hispanic culture in the past and present. The mural includes an Aztec warrior in ceremonial headdress, Emiliano Zapata, and "El Castillo," a temple representing the architecture of the Aztecs.
External links
- "Gainesville State School." Texas Youth CommissionTexas Youth CommissionThe Texas Youth Commission is a Texas state agency which operates juvenile corrections facilities in the state. The commission is headquartered in the Brown-Heatly Building in Austin...
- Reilly, Rick. "There are some games in which cheering for the other side feels better than winning." ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.