Walker County is a county located in the east central section of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 76,400. Its county seat is Huntsville. Initially, Walker County was named for Robert J. Walker, a legislator from Mississippi who introduced into the United States Congress the resolution to annex Texas. Walker later supported the U.S. during its Civil War and earned some enmity for it. In order to keep the county's name, the state renamed it for Samuel H. Walker, a Texas Ranger and soldier in the United States Army.
Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. The population was 45,941 as of the 2020 census. It is the center of the Huntsville micropolitan area. Huntsville is in the East Texas Piney Woods on Interstate 45 and home to Sam Houston State University, Texas State Prison, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Huntsville State Park, and HEARTS Veterans Museum of Texas.
Old Sparky is the nickname of the electric chairs in Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Old Smokey was the nickname of the electric chairs used in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. "Old Sparky" is sometimes used to refer to electric chairs in general, and not one of a specific state.
Sam Houston State University is a public research university in Huntsville, Texas. Founded in 1879, it is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools west of the Mississippi River and the first in Texas. The school is named for Sam Houston, who made his home in the city and is buried there.
An execution chamber, or death chamber, is a room or chamber in which capital punishment is carried out. Execution chambers are almost always inside the walls of a maximum-security prison, although not always at the same prison where the death row population is housed. Inside the chamber is the device used to carry out the death sentence.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Texas for murder, and participation in a felony resulting in death if committed by an individual who has attained or is over the age of 18.
The Houston Museum of Natural Science is a natural history museum located on the northern border of Hermann Park in Houston, Texas, United States. The museum was established in 1909 by the Houston Museum and Scientific Society, an organization whose goals were to provide a free institution for the people of Houston focusing on education and science. The museum complex consists of a central facility with four floors of natural science halls and exhibits, the Burke Baker Planetarium, the Cockrell Butterfly Center, and the Wortham Giant Screen Theatre. In 2022, the museum received 1,520,000 visitors, making it seventh on the List of most-visited museums in the United States, and was the third most-visited U.S. science museum. Much of the museum's popularity is attributed to its large number of special or guest exhibits.
Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville or Huntsville Unit (HV), nicknamed "Walls Unit", is a Texas state prison located in Huntsville, Texas, United States. The approximately 54.36-acre (22.00 ha) facility, near downtown Huntsville, is operated by the Correctional Institutions Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The facility, the oldest Texas state prison, opened in 1849.
The Huntsville Item is a five-day morning daily newspaper published in Huntsville, Texas, covering Walker County in East Texas. It is owned by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails, and private correctional facilities, funding and certain oversight of community supervision, and supervision of offenders released from prison on parole or mandatory supervision. The TDCJ operates the largest prison system in the United States.
Samuel Walker Houston was an American pioneer in the field of education.
At the Death House Door is a 2008 documentary film about Carroll Pickett, who served as the death house chaplain to the infamous "Walls" prison unit in Huntsville, Texas. It was produced and directed by the team of Steve James and Peter Gilbert, co-produced by Zak Piper and Aaron Wickenden. James and Gilbert had previously worked together on the well-received Kartemquin Films documentary Hoop Dreams, on which James was the producer and director and Gilbert served as producer and director of photography. The film was produced by Kartemquin Films in association with the Chicago Tribune, which provided partial funding.
Allan B. Polunsky Unit is a prison in West Livingston, unincorporated Polk County, Texas, United States, located approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) southwest of Livingston along Farm to Market Road 350. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) operates the facility. The unit houses the State of Texas death row for men, and it has a maximum capacity of 2,900. Livingston Municipal Airport is located on the other side of FM 350. The unit, along the Big Thicket, is 60 miles (97 km) east of Huntsville.
Don Sanders Stadium, nicknamed "The Don", is located in Huntsville, Texas, and home to the Sam Houston State Bearkats baseball team. It opened on February 11, 2006. The Stadium was originally named Bearkat Baseball Complex in 2006 and in 2007 was renamed to Don Sanders Stadium. It is named after the Houston Entrepreneur Don Sanders, who donated $1 million to Sam Houston State University for enhancing the baseball program.
Sammy Bearkat is the mascot of Sam Houston State University (SHSU), located in Huntsville, Texas. He is a popular attraction at many athletic events such as football, basketball, and volleyball. He also appears for various campus and community functions. Sammy's two-minute routine earned him a national championship of the mascots division at the 2005 United Spirit Association Collegiate National Championship. Sammy was also named the 2010 and 2011 National Cheerleading Association (NCA) Mascot National Champion. In the 2012 nationals season, Sammy competed with the SHSU Co-Ed Cheer Team at the National Cheerleading Association (NCA) collegiate cheer competition. Together they won first place and earned the title of NCA Division I Cheer National Collegiate Champions. In 2013 Sammy also competed with the SHSU Co-Ed Cheer Team who won their second straight national championship title for NCA. Sammy returned to the Band Shell in Daytona Beach to compete alongside the SHSU All-Girl cheer team who won the NCA All-Girl Division I National Championship Title in 2014. In 2015 Sammy was able to wrap his paws around another NCA Division I title as he competed alongside the Co-Ed Cheer Team. In 2016, Sammy competed alongside the SHSU Division I Co-Ed Cheer Team to win another 1st place NCA National Championship. Sammy was also chosen as the 2016 NCA Mascot National Champion after showcasing a great routine in Daytona Beach, Florida. Sammy has now brought home 1st place in various different flavors in 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 & 2016, 2017, 2018.
The Holliday Transfer Facility, is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice transfer facility for men located in Huntsville, Texas. Holliday is along Interstate 45 and .5 miles (0.80 km) north of Texas State Highway 30. The unit, on a 1,412-acre (571 ha) plot of land, is co-located with the Wynne Unit.
The 2013 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team represented Sam Houston State University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bearkats were led by fourth-year head coach Willie Fritz and played their home games at Bowers Stadium. They were a member of the Southland Conference.
The Bearkat Marching Band, also known as The Famous Bearkat Band or the BMB, is the marching band at Sam Houston State University. The band was founded in 1910 under the direction of C.W. Feuge, and is currently directed by Brian Gibbs. The band appears at Sam Houston football and basketball home games, as well as at pep rallies, the annual Battle of the Piney Woods in Houston, and occasionally at in-state away games.
The Houstonian is a campus newspaper at Sam Houston State University (SHSU). The paper was founded in 1913. CBS News journalist Dan Rather served as editor of the newspaper before his graduation from SHSU in 1953. In 1994, the university named the headquarters of the paper the Dan Rather Communications Building. Before his 2005 retirement, CBS created the Dan Rather Scholarship Fund in honor of the journalist, with preference towards those working at The Houstonian.
The Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery is the main prison cemetery in Texas, located in Huntsville and operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). The colloquial name for the cemetery is Peckerwood Hill. The name originates from "Peckerwood", an insult towards poor white people, because many of those buried at the cemetery were poor.
