Construction for the James Reese Career and Technical Center began in October 2017 and became international news when a forgotten and unmarked cemetery was unearthed on land purchased by Fort Bend ISD to build the school. After months of excavating, archaeologists discovered the remains of 95 individuals, presumably 94 men and 1 woman, commonly referred to as the Sugar Land 95. Archaeologists concluded that these individuals were part of a state-sanctioned convict leasing system that operated in Texas after the abolition of slavery until the turn of the 20th century, and extensive analysis and research indicated that the remains were likely those of people who labored and died in a state convict labor camp that operated in the area between 1878 and 1911. Laboratory analysis found signs of disease, repeated injury, and gunshot wounds likely sustained during escape attempts, showing that those in the prison camps endured corporal punishment, hunger, insufficient clothing, exposure, and severe overwork. In response to community input, the Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees re-interred the remains in their original resting places on the school site. The burial site had been abandoned and forgotten for over a century until its discovery on February 19th, 2018.
