Preston E. Smith Unit

A general-population men's prison near Lamesa in West Texas, with multiple custody levels and career and technical training programs.

Overview

The Preston E. Smith Unit is a general-population men’s prison near Lamesa, in Dawson County, on the West Texas South Plains south of Lubbock. TDCJ lists it at about 2,098 beds. It opened in October 1992 and holds a broad mix of custody levels, from G1 through G5.

The unit has no specialty medical or psychiatric mission; it is a standard general-population prison. Two facts shape most of what visiting here involves: the range of custody levels housed on one campus, and the unit’s remote location far from a major city.

What Makes the Preston E. Smith Unit Different

• Houses a broad G1-G5 custody mix, so the visiting format follows the incarcerated person’s classification rather than one unit-wide rule
• Sits in remote West Texas — on the South Plains south of Lubbock — so most families travel a long distance to visit
• Runs career and technical trades, literacy and GED classes, special education, ESL, and cognitive intervention programming, alongside chaplaincy, faith-based housing, peer education, and reentry planning
• Operates a mattress factory and agricultural operations on site

Visiting Hours and Procedures

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

The unit’s custody mix is the main reason one posted schedule does not mean one visiting experience. 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. The format follows the incarcerated person’s classification, so two families arriving the same morning may have different experiences.

Getting There and Parking

The Preston E. Smith Unit is near Lamesa, in Dawson County, on the West Texas South Plains. Lamesa sits about an hour south of Lubbock, and the drive crosses open agricultural country between towns.

Because Lamesa is small and the surrounding area is rural, fuel, food, and lodging options thin out near the unit, and the nearest large city is Lubbock.

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

Lamesa is the nearest town for gas, food, groceries, and lodging, and the surrounding South Plains has limited commercial services between towns. Lubbock, about an hour north, is the nearest city with a full range of services and lodging.

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