The Texas Prison Rodeo Program digital collection is made possible by the generosity
of The Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville, Texas.
The Texas Prison Rodeo, which ran from 1931 to 1986, was billed as "the wildest show of its kind ever staged," and was the first prison rodeo in the U.S.. Beginning in 2022, SHSU's Newton Gresham Library and The Texas Prison Museum collaborated to digitize the museum's collection of Texas Prison Rodeo souvenir programs. During the project, The Texas Prison Museum provided physical copies of the rodeo programs to Newton Gresham Library for digitization and digital preservation. The Texas Prison Rodeo Program collection contains programs for the annual Texas Prison Rodeo from 1938 to 1986.
This exhibit aims to highlight the collection of Prison Rodeo programs and related items in our Special Collections Room, provide a brief history of the prison rodeo, and guide users to additional sources for continued research.
SHSU Digital Collections Rights Statement
Sam Houston State University's Newton Gresham Library holds a variety of rare, special, and unique materials, many of which are part of the digital collections or may be added in the future. These materials have been made available for research, teaching and private use.
Users may download any material from the digital collections for their personal use. However, items which are under copyright may not be reused in publications without permission from the copyright holder. If you wish to use any materials for publication and are uncertain about the copyright status, please contact the Newton Gresham Library Digital Resources department.
Some of the materials in the Newton Gresham Library digital collections are in public domain, and some of the materials may be owned by unidentified copyright owners. Where possible, we have identified the copyright owners. If you are a copyright owner of any of the material posted on this website, please contact us so that we may gather accurate information about our collection. If you have any additional information about the material or would like to suggest any corrections, please contact us.
If withdrawal is requested due to a copyright violation, administrators will temporarily restrict access to the work and will notify the submitter. If it is found that copyright was violated, the work will be withdrawn.
Content Warning
Due to the nature and age of certain historical materials, some items within the library's collections may include language and/or imagery that depict prejudices, or content that is considered offensive and harmful.
The Newton Gresham Library (NGL) does not condone any prejudices or harmful content found within this digital collection. They do not reflect the view, mission, values, and policies of NGL or its partners.
In the interest of historical integrity, understanding, study, and to inspire discussion, NGL does not intend to permanently block or exclude any text or images in this digital collection. NGL supports the open access and use of its digital collections and strives to allow users to access and search high-quality representations of the original items. It is NGL’s responsibility to make its digital collections user-friendly while serving as conscientious stewards of an ever-complicated history.
This content statement is provided to warn users of potentially harmful or offensive material, and to give users the opportunity to decide for themselves if they wish to view the material or not. The intent of a content statement or warning is not to deter users from collections.
The recommended way to navigate the exhibit is to start on the homepage and then progress through each sub-page in sequential order. At the bottom of each page there are "Next" and "Previous" buttons to assist with navigation. Viewers may also use the navigation tabs on the left side of the page to jump to areas of interest.
Cardenas, C. (2023). The rise and fall of the Texas prison rodeo. Texas Highways. https://texashighways.com/culture/history/the-rise-and-fall-of-texas-prison-rodeo/
Lucko, Paul M. (2020) Prison system. Handbook of Texas Online. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/prison-system
Roth, M. P. (2016). Convict cowboys : the untold history of the Texas Prison Rodeo. University of North Texas Press.
Whitman, Sylvia. (2020). Texas prison rodeo. Handbook of Texas Online. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/texas-prison-rodeo
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