The history of Austin State School - Farm Colony!

Austin State School - Farm Colony (Travis State School) was a living center that was operated as a farm colony and educational facility becoming eventually a work facility for the mentally retarded citizens of Texas operating from 1933 to 1996. The institution taught the mentally retarded how to be self-sufficient.


In 1930, Texas Governor Miriam A. Ferguson proposed an idea to the Texas Board of Control along with Texas Mental Health Mental Retardation to create a farm colony, work facility, and educational facility for the mentally retarded citizens of Texas. The Texas Government had purchased 241 acres of land from Greg Wilson and six other residents in the year of 1932. In 1933, the Texas legislature established Travis State School as the Austin State School - Farm Colony as an annex/branch of the Austin State School. (Travis State School was first named Austin State School - Farm Colony in 1933. Austin State School - Farm Colony was changed to Travis State School in 1961.)

The Austin State School - Farm Colony itself was located at FM 969 and Decker Lane 8 miles east of Downtown Austin located near the Colorado River. East Austin, further away from US Highway 183 was all farmland with ranches which resulted in an ideal location for Austin State School - Farm Colony.

The farm colony started as a true farm community in 1933. Texas Government along Texas Mental Health Mental Retardation had felt a need to place mentally retarded citizens in a separate home away from the rest of society. The mindset of society was to place mentally retarded citizens far away from so they wouldn’t ever have a need to come into the metropolis as Austin State School was set up as an autonomous community.
Texas Government along TX MHMR ideology was for the mentally retarded to produce farm products for other ‘State Schools’ and institutions. This taught the mentally retarded how to be self-sufficient.

Austin State School - Farm Colony was intended to provide a home for mentally retarded male patients who could no longer further benefit from training at the Austin State School and who were able to do such farm work such as gardening, farming, dairying, mowing, and such related tasks. The first students were transferred from the Austin State School to the farm colony in October 1934 which at the time had only one building. However, there were female students even in 1934 despite the original intentions of the institutions for males only.

By then, the farm colony moved many of the male patients from the Austin State School to Austin State School - Farm Colony. ‘State School’ facilities were gender segregated due to a prevalent belief from the time period that associated mental retardation with promiscuity, alcoholism, and immoral behavior. At first, Austin State School - Farm Colony was just for men and eventually women. Children came later.

However on January 14, 1941, the Texas Legislature and Texas Government were considering closing down the farm colony due to the fact that the farm colony was a total failure as the farm colony could not produce enough to maintain for the patients at the institutions. However the farm colony remained. By then, the farm colony only admitted male patients only from other state mental health institutions.

By 1945, the farm colony had six buildings with offices. 120 to 368 inmates lived on the institution property.
The farm colony became a separate institution from the Austin State School in 1949 despite having the name ‘Austin State School’ which it was always a part of. The farm colony was always Austin State School despite was others say.
By 1955, TX MHMR had acquired an additional 195 acres from 8 more residents all of which whom owned farmland. The Austin State School - Farming Colony campus eventually grew to encompass 68 buildings that spanned to the 436 acres you see today owned by KIPP Austin.


Farming operations at the facility slowly ceased in January 1961 due to the fact that the farm colony was a total failure. The farm colony could not produce enough to maintain for the patients at the institutions. The farming operations did not cease due to mental health care reforms in the 1960's due to popular belief. Farming operations ceased due to lack of attention and criminal negligence. The Austin State School - Farm Colony was a dismal failure as the Texas Government put it.
To reflect this change, Austin State School - Farm Colony was renamed to Travis State School in January 1961.

Austin State School - Farm Colony had its highest peak of patient enrollment of 1,800 patients/students in 1968 all of whom had been transferred from other institutions. Later included was a swimming pool, cannery, storerooms, more offices, and a sewing room.

In the year of 1970, Travis State School received a grant from the Hospital Improvement Project which made it possible for the use of a unit system of treatment. A new Vocational Evaluation and Training Center was opened and staffed through a grant from the Texas Rehabilitation Commission. Female students were first admitted in 1973 for the first time since the institution gradually opened in 1934.


By 1981, the farm colony discontinued farming operations due to lack of attention and mental health care reforms.
The farm colony could not produce enough to maintain for the patients at the institutions. So the Texas Government cut funding for the Austin State School - Farm Colony and ended it. Farming operations at the facility ceased for good due to lack of enrollment, lack of maintenance, criminal negligence, and bad results. All what was left in its place was the institution.

The Texas Government and TX MHMR had began changing its focus from institutionalization to integrated placement in local communities as this trend was becoming nationwide in the United States in the 1980s. ‘State Schools’ began to see a decline in enrollment. This was a result from efforts in deinstitutionalization. By then, state officials began following this trend. The Travis State School functioned as an Independent School District (ISD) from 1981 to 1988. After the year of 1988 due to lack of enrollment and federal funding, Travis State School relied on the Manor Independent School District to provide academic instruction through its "mainstreaming" program instead.


In the 1990s, Travis State School was renamed to Austin State School Annex but still kept the name ‘Travis State School’ as many people referred to the institution by such name despite what other say. Texas has always historically been behind most US states to serve people with mental retardation within their own communities along with Alabama, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Illinois.

The 1990s saw an even further decline in ‘State School’ enrollment due to deinstitutionalization and healthcare laws. Effects of deinstitutionalization became statewide. Statistics in newspapers, reports, and books showed otherwise.
In 1992, Travis State School had 604 patients and 1,270 employees with a total of 86 buildings at its 436 acre property. In 1994, only 104 patients remained. They were unharmed.

In 1994, the State of Texas and City of Austin proposed a 1,000 inmate facility for a new state jail to alleviate crowding with the population in state jails. In 1996, the Travis County State Jail/Travis State Jail was built and completed. For a short while, Travis County State Jail/Travis State Jail was privately run by privatized prison industrial complex company Wackenhut Correctional Facilities.
The land where Travis County State Jail/Travis State Jail occupies is where the Farm Colony originally was for Austin State School - Farm Colony.

Due to an abuse case at Travis State School along with lawsuits such as Lelsz vs. Kavanagh and Ruiz vs. Estelle, Travis State School closed down as an agreement in a lawsuit settlement with the state of Texas and US Government in 1996. The lawsuit was both statewide and federal, thus resulting in the federal lawsuit of Lelsz vs. Kavanagh.

By 1996, Travis State School closed for good. By then all remaining 41 patients were relocated to nearby institutions such as the Austin State School (now Austin State Supported Living Center). Construction at Travis State School lasted from 1996 to 1998. Debris was left over from pervious construction teams who relocated nearly everything. Some items and various other objects were left onsite. Buildings fell into various states of decay and disrepair.

In 1996, local real estate developer Peter Barlin had bought the land Travis State School was located on from Texas Board of Control. The idea for Peter Barlin purchasing the Travis State School land and buildings was to create a private version of the public housing agency called Vision Village. His main intention was to create public housing.
Vision Village was supposed to be a neighborhood for low income housing. The City of Austin gave him a $1 million dollar incentive for this land development. Organizers borrowed nearly $4 million from Austin, Travis County and a local bank in 1997.

However plans fell through when Vision Village lacked the management expertise and fund-raising ability to build the housing it promised. Local real estate developer Peter Barlin had been charged criminally with penalties such as embezzlement, conspiracy, money laundering, mismanagement, and fraud. More than $5 million had been poured into the project. Peter Barlin had owned the former Travis State School site that was once set aside for Vision Village, a project that never got off the ground despite more than $1 million from the city. The Vision Village costs had ran deeper than dollars however.

Austin State School - Farm Colony had moved back to its original location at the “original” Austin State School (now Austin State Supported Living Center) in 1998 after construction and renovation was completed. The work was done fairly slowly.


In 2004, KIPP Schools (KIPP Austin) had purchased the Austin State School - Farm Colony property from Peter Barlin and the State of Texas via TX MHMR from Texas Board of Control. Some buildings however were still abandoned. These buildings were renovated overtime. Only few buildings were demolished. The Travis State School Cemetery had fallen into disrepair. Security had not been set up to protect and secure property on a 24 hour basis yet.

Austin State School - Farm Colony sat abandoned and vacant for a period of time from 1996 to 2004.
This made it easy for scrappers to steal and vandalize the buildings for copper metal in order to gain a profit. One famous example would be local criminal Reginald Dane Parker. Local criminal Reginald Dane Parker had apparently been stealing copper wire there from the location site before for years. The timeframe Reginald Dane Parker had been stealing copper wire from Austin State School - Farm Colony was from 2001 to 2005. Reginald Dane Parker was arrested and jailed by law enforcement officials in 2005.

 By 2011, KIPP Austin had fully settled onto the land of the former Travis State School site. However the 8 dorms that weren’t in use were boarded up and closed off. The 9 warehouses are in various states of disrepair. Austin Police Department had set up their Child Protective Services division there in the year of 2011 as well.

In 2015, KIPP Schools contracted with local business ASC Management to secure the property as an effort in security measures. Closed-Camera surveillance cameras are now present and 24 hour security is actively on sight. Gates now hover over the buildings. Unoccupied buildings that were boarded up or abandoned are now currently in use. These building have been upgraded by being renovated. Currently businesses such as KIPP Austin, Austin Discovery School, KIPP Cafe, Austin Police Department, and Child Protective Services now occupy the land property. A small handful of former warehouses are in various states of disrepair.



[Here is what happened to the farm colony of Austin State School - Farm Colony!]
[Farming operations at the facility slowly ceased in January 1961 due to the fact that the farm colony was a dismal failure as the Texas Government cited. The farm colony could not produce enough to maintain for the patients at the institutions. The farming operations did not cease due to mental health care reforms in the 1960's due to popular belief. Farming operations ceased due to lack of attention and criminal negligence.
To reflect this change, Austin State School - Farm Colony was renamed to Travis State School in January 1961.]

[By 1981, the farm colony discontinued farming operations due to lack of attention and mental health care reforms.
The farm colony could not produce enough to maintain for the patients at the institutions. So the Texas Government cut funding for the Austin State School - Farm Colony and ended it. Farming operations at the facility ceased for good due to lack of enrollment, lack of maintenance, criminal negligence, and bad results. All what was left in its place was the institution.]

[Austin State School - Farm Colony had moved back to its original location at the “original” Austin State School (now Austin State Supported Living Center) in 1998. Austin State School - Farm Colony has now been reduced to a garden to a size of 4 rows as of 2016. The farm colony is a former shill of what it once was. No longer are extreme amounts of tax dollars being poured into the farm colony. As of 2016, Austin State School - Farm Colony no longer exists.]