Opened in 1940 as a reformatory for women. Today, it is the Federal Correctional Institution Seagoville. This low-security prison in Seagoville Texas houses male inmates. But its story is more complex than you might think.
FCI Seagoville has a history that stretches back to before World War II. Initially, it was a Federal Reformatory for Women. However, the attack on Pearl Harbor changed everything. The government transformed FCI Seagoville into a detention station. It housed people of Japanese German and Italian descent. These people were classified as enemy aliens. This included women deported from Latin America into U.S. custody. Some were even classified as voluntary internees who had left their home countries. This was often after their husbands were deported.
During this time, internees at FCI Seagoville created a German-language newsletter. It was called the Sagedorfer Fliegende Blatter. In 1945 after the war ended, the facility transitioned. It became a prison for minimum-security male offenders. By 1969, FCI Seagoville housed young male offenders sentenced under the Youth Corrections Act. The maximum age was 27.
The mission shifted again in 1979 to a Federal Prison Camp. In 1981, a perimeter fence was added. It officially became a Federal Correctional Institution. The adjacent Federal Detention Center opened in 1996. FCI Seagoville celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2000.
FCI Seagoville sits on an 830-acre tract. The original construction cost $1.8 million. During World War II, detainees lived in dormitories. Couples lived in Victory Huts. These were small prefabricated buildings.
In 2012, an inmate named John Hall committed a hate crime. He assaulted a fellow inmate he believed to be gay. Hall was sentenced to additional prison time for this act.
FCI Seagoville has housed several notable inmates over the years. These include Josh Duggar. He was a former reality TV personality convicted of child pornography charges. Chris Epps. He was the former Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. He was convicted of taking bribes. Jacques Roy. He was a physician indicted for healthcare fraud. Ralph Shortey. He was a former Oklahoma state senator convicted of child sex trafficking.
In 2020, FCI Seagoville faced a severe COVID-19 outbreak. A significant percentage of the inmate population tested positive. This put a spotlight on the challenges of managing health crises in correctional facilities.
Today, FCI Seagoville remains a low-security facility. It houses around 1,800 inmates. It includes a minimum-security prison camp. Its history reflects changing times and evolving priorities in the U.S. correctional system.