L.V. Hightower Unit

A general-population men's prison near Dayton in Liberty County, with a geriatric mission and a sex-offender treatment program.

Overview

The L.V. Hightower Unit is a general-population prison for men in Liberty County, about four miles north of Dayton. TDCJ established the unit in March 1990 and lists its capacity at about 1,384 beds. It holds custody levels G1, G2, and G4, and medical care is managed by the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB).

Two specialized missions set Hightower apart from a standard general-population unit, and both are described below.

What Makes Hightower Unit Different

• TDCJ designates it a Type I Geriatric Facility, a unit organized to serve aging incarcerated men
• The unit runs a Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP) and a Sex Offender Education Program (SOEP)
• Operations include a garment factory and security horse and canine units
• Education and vocational programming includes ABE/GED, special education, the CHANGES pre-release program, cognitive intervention, construction carpentry, and small-engine repair
• A faith-based dormitory operates on the unit

Neither the geriatric designation nor the sex-offender programming changes the visiting rules; visiting follows TDCJ’s standard general-population procedures.

Visiting Hours and Procedures

The statewide rules above — approval, ID, prohibited items, and dress code — apply at the L.V. Hightower Unit. What follows is specific to this unit.

Hightower holds G1, G2, and G4 custody levels. The visiting format follows the incarcerated person’s classification, so general-population housing typically uses standard contact visiting, while more restrictive housing can mean different room assignments or non-contact procedures on the same weekend. Two families arriving the same morning may have different experiences depending on the person each is visiting.

Getting There and Parking

Hightower sits in Liberty County northeast of Houston, about four miles north of Dayton on FM 686 off Highway 321. The route into Dayton is on highways, with the final approach on a farm-to-market road.

Phones, Mail, and Video

Contact has a sequence to it. A phone number must be on the incarcerated person’s approved contact list before calls can connect, and after intake or a transfer that approval can take time to process. Calls are placed by the incarcerated person on TDCJ’s Securus phone system; a prison cannot be called into. Account setup, rates, and video options are covered in Phone & Video Calls.

Nearby Services

Dayton has gas, food, and groceries, and Liberty is a short distance away. The larger concentration of lodging, restaurants, and other services is toward Houston, southwest of the unit along the US-90 corridor.

For support beyond the unit itself, the Texas Inmate Families Association is a statewide nonprofit focused on education, advocacy, and prison-system navigation resources for families with someone in TDCJ custody.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone at a Texas state prison:

• Visiting in Texas — TDCJ approval process, dress code, scheduling
• Mail & Packages — what you can send and what gets rejected
• Phone & Video Calls — Securus accounts, call costs, video visits
• Sending Money — how to add funds to a TDCJ trust account
• Medical & Mental Health — healthcare in TDCJ facilities
• Transfers — what happens during transfers