Barry B. Telford Unit

A large TDCJ prison in New Boston, in far northeast Texas near Texarkana.

Overview

The Barry B. Telford Unit is a large men’s TDCJ prison in New Boston, in Bowie County in far northeast Texas, near Texarkana and the Arkansas and Louisiana state lines. TDCJ lists it at about 2,451 beds.

Two facts shape almost everything about visiting here: the unit’s size and its far-northeast-corner location.

What Makes Barry B. Telford Unit Different

• One of TDCJ’s larger units — TDCJ lists it at about 2,451 beds
• Sits in the far northeast corner of Texas, near Texarkana and the Arkansas and Louisiana state lines, so some families approach from across state borders rather than from elsewhere in Texas
• Houses a broad G1-G5 custody mix, so the visiting format follows the incarcerated person’s classification rather than one unit-wide rule
• Located two miles south of I-30 on Highway 98, with services concentrated in the Texarkana area rather than near the unit

Visiting Hours and Procedures

The statewide rules above — approval, ID, prohibited items, and dress code — apply at Barry B. Telford Unit. What follows is specific to this unit.

TDCJ uses standard weekend visitation. Visits are held on Saturdays and Sundays, with generally one two-hour visit per weekend. Whether a visit is contact or non-contact follows the incarcerated person’s custody and housing status, so general-population housing typically uses standard contact visiting while more restrictive housing can mean non-contact procedures on the same weekend.

Specific hours and time slots are set at the unit level and are arranged through the TDCJ Online Visitation Portal. The portal shows the unit’s current schedule and is where families confirm and reserve a visit.

The unit’s size is the other variable. With about 2,451 beds, moving people from housing to the visiting area takes time, so the same posted hours can produce a wait between check-in and the start of a visit.

Getting There and Parking

The Barry B. Telford Unit is in New Boston, two miles south of I-30 on Highway 98. The Texarkana area is the nearest concentration of services, and the unit draws families from across the nearby state lines as well as from within Texas.

There is no fixed-route bus to the unit, so the trip is by car.

The nearest hospitals and 24-hour emergency rooms are in the Texarkana area, not near the unit. CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System in Texarkana operates a 24-hour emergency room, and Wadley Regional Medical Center in Texarkana also operates a 24-hour emergency room.

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

New Boston is small, with limited commercial services. Texarkana, about 20 minutes east on I-30, is the nearest service center for gas, food, groceries, and lodging. Hotel sites list chain properties in Texarkana, including Hampton Inn & Suites Texarkana and Holiday Inn Express Texarkana.

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