New exhibit honoring Sugar Land 95 opens at Fort Bend ISD

SUGAR LAND, Texas (KTRK) -- A new educational exhibit has opened to honor the 95 people found in an unmarked prison cemetery on Fort Bend ISD property while crews were building a school in 2018.

The exhibit is the first of several ways district officials said they plan to memorialize the 95 individuals, who are believed to be part of the state's brutal convict leasing system which lasted until 1912.

The Sugar Land 95 discovery is believed to be the first fully intact convict leasing cemetery to be discovered in the United States.

The Texas Historical Commission announced it will be putting up a ceremonial marker at the James Reese Career and Technical Center, where the cemetery has been built.

Plans are also in the works for an outdoor memorial, as researchers work to identify the 94 men and one woman whose remains were discovered.

SEE RELATED STORY: 'Slavery by another name': How cold case technology is helping researchers identify Sugar Land 95

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