Explore 55 years of Texas Prison Rodeo history through the newly digitized archive at SHSU’s Newton Gresham Library
Press Release from Sam Houston State University
HUNTSVILLE, TX — The Sam Houston State University Newton Gresham Library has unveiled a digital collection of artifacts from the Texas Prison Rodeo. Now accessible through the library’s website, this archive offers a comprehensive look at the 55-year history of the rodeo, which featured music legends and rodeo-savvy inmates competing in front of crowds.
The Texas Prison Rodeo, held a stone’s throw from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville every October from 1931 to 1986, was the first of its kind in the United States and is a unique piece of local Texas history.
Beginning as a recreational program for inmates in the 1930s, it soon grew to be a fall tradition for Texans, with events taking place on weekends throughout the month. Though the prison rodeo may seem like a curiosity today, it was once incredibly popular, referenced in popular media such as the 1980 film “Urban Cowboy”. In addition, many prominent performers performed at the Rodeo, including Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, The Judds and George Strait. This October marks 38 years since the last Texas Prison Rodeo event was held.
Starting in 2022, SHSU’s Newton Gresham Library and The Texas Prison Museum established a partnership to digitize the museum’s collection of Texas Prison Rodeo souvenir programs.
“I had received a few requests about materials relating to the prison rodeo, but we didn’t have many things here in Special Collections,” said Trent Shotwell, the head of Special Collections and University Archives in Newton Gresham Library.
Having previously worked at the Texas Prison Museum, Shotwell reached out to his former colleague, Jim Willett, to ask if they would be willing to let the library digitize some of the prison rodeo souvenir programs from their collection. From there it evolved into a collaborative project to digitize and preserve the museum’s full collection. Susan Elkins, the head of Digital Initiatives for Newton Gresham Library at the time, saw the value of digitizing and preserving the complete collection.
“Susan was the one to really encourage that the full collection be digitally preserved and made available online,” Shotwell said.
During the project, The Texas Prison Museum provided physical copies of the rodeo programs to Newton Gresham Library to be scanned in the library’s digitization lab; and in return, the library provided high-quality copies of the scanned images for the museum to maintain with their collection as well.
Many older Texans may have memories of attending the event themselves, but for younger generations, reading the programs is like accessing a slice of Texas history. The programs shed light on many details about the rodeo and other activities of the prison system that may be of interest to modern scholars and students; including the evolution of the event from a recreational program to a money-making venture, the racial dynamics of the rodeo, the participation of women in the rodeo and the innate problems of using inmates as a form of entertainment.
The Prison Rodeo Programs digital collection is currently available for viewing in SHSU’s Digital Collections and is the most complete digitized collection of its kind. A digital exhibit is also available, highlighting the collection of prison rodeo programs, as well as related items in the library’s Special Collections, including photographs, postcards, books and other collection materials. Here, researchers can also find a brief history of the prison rodeo and guides to additional sources for continued research.
Michelle McCrary, current head of Digital Initiatives in Newton Gresham Library, states that more digital collections and exhibits are in the works.
“The Prison Rodeo Program project has kicked off a wonderful partnership between the library and the museum. I only joined in at the tail end of this particular project; but because of its success, we have already started discussing other materials and collections from the museum that we can digitize next. We’re looking forward to continuing this partnership and helping to digitally preserve and make available the museum’s unique materials,” McCrary said.
The Texas Prison Museum is open Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., and Sundays 12 p.m. – 5 p.m. The Prison Rodeo Programs digital exhibit is online now.
