The Crain Unit, officially the Christina Melton Crain Unit, is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) prison for women in Gatesville, Coryell County. It opened in August 1980 and holds 1,440 women with 711 staff. Crain is one of six TDCJ units in Gatesville and shares a 1,283-acre campus with Hilltop, Murray and Woodman, which is why families so often end up at the wrong gate. It also handles offender intake and receiving and serves as a regional release site.
City
Gatesville
County
Coryell County
State
Texas
Facility Type
State Prison
Gender
Female
Capacity
1440
Custody Levels
G1-G4, Transient, Outside Trusty, Developmentally Disabled, Substance Abuse
Operator
TDCJ Correctional Institutions Division
Address
1401 State School Road, Gatesville, TX 76599-2999
Phone
(254) 865-8431
Inmate Locator
Free Inmate Search ↗Enter your loved one's full legal name - the name on their official ID - for the most accurate match.
Find their current location, facility name, and housing details - updated from official government records.
See the facility address, phone number, visitation hours, and the steps to get in touch.
Send photos, letters, and set up phone access - all through Pigeonly, built for families like yours.
Mailing Address
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
[Full First and Last Name] [TDCJ Number]
PO Box 660400
Dallas, TX 75266-0400
Six TDCJ units share the town of Gatesville and Crain shares a street with Hilltop. How to read the locator result so you know which one she is in.
View ArticleCrain has no video column on TDCJ's schedule at all, because its remote video runs through Securus while in-person visits go through the state portal.
View ArticleCrain houses G4 custody, and women in G4 cannot receive eCommDirect package purchases at all.
View ArticleOne Securus registration covers both calls and remote video here, unlike most TDCJ units.
View ArticleLetters are scanned in Dallas, and families cannot mail personal property in at all.
View Article6 of 6 questions
1401 State School Road, Gatesville, TX 76599-2999, in Coryell County. Hilltop is a separate prison at 1500 State School Road on the same road, so check the number on the envelope. Crain's own line is (254) 865-8431.
FacilityTDCJ lists a capacity of 1,440 women, staffed by 711 employees on a 1,283-acre campus. It opened in August 1980.
FacilitySix. Five hold women, Crain, Hilltop, Murray, Woodman and O'Daniel, and the sixth, Hughes, holds men. Crain, Hilltop, Murray and Woodman are co-located on one campus. This is the most concentrated cluster of units in the Texas system.
FacilityPartly. TDCJ lists offender intake and receiving at Crain, and it also serves as a regional release site, so people pass through at both ends of a sentence. The formal diagnostics and classification happen at Woodman.
FacilityG1 through G4, plus Transient, Outside Trusty, Developmentally Disabled and Substance Abuse. TDCJ also runs a Developmental Disabilities Program and a Special Needs Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility at the unit.
FacilityTDCJ lists specialty clinics at Crain with Hospital Galveston physicians providing OB/GYN. TDCJ's March 2024 Correctional Managed Health Care materials state that all pregnant women are housed at the Carole Young Medical Facility in Dickinson, which provides obstetrical care, so a pregnancy usually means a move.
FacilitySearch for your loved one and start sending photos, letters, and messages today.
Search for Your Loved OneFree Inmate Search
All information on this page comes directly from official government and facility sources. How we verify information › Last verified August 24, 2026. Official source: tdcj.texas.gov/unit_directory/gv.html ›