The Gatesville State School for Boys was a juvenile corrections facility in Gatesville, Texas. The 900-acre facility was converted into two prisons for adults, the Christina Crain Unit (formerly Gatesville Unit), and the Hilltop Unit.

The Texas Legislature established the House of Correction and Reformatory, the first rehabilitative juvenile correctional facility in the Southern United States, in 1887. The facility, operated by the Texas Prison System, opened in January 1889 with 68 boys who had previously been located in correctional facilities with adult felons. At the beginning the institution also housed boys who did not commit any crimes, but had no family and no other place to live in. Children were previously housed in the Huntsville Unit, a prison which also housed adults, in Huntsville.

That may explain the difference in being listed on death certificates as "Inmate" or "Student." It could also be due to age.

I will continue my research.

The following article by William T. Field is from The Handbook of Texas, Volume 3, Eldon Stephen Branda, editor, The Texas Historical Association, Austin, 1976, pages 330-331.

Gatesville State School for Boys.
The Gatesville State School for Boys was placed under the administration of the Texas Youth Council by the Fifty-fifth Legislature. An extensive program was initiated by the council to transform the old school into six separate training units or schools, including a security-treatment institution and five open-type schools. The proposed program became a reality in April, 1963, with the completion of the Hackberry School.
The general superintendent directed the five open­type schools, which provided benefits from specialized programs of classification, care, treatment, and discipline. Each school was in turn directed by an assistant superintendent, aided by a principal and teachers of the academic and vocational school and by a professional counseling staff.
The Valley School was a training unit for 160 young males. It was situated three-quarters of a mile south of the old Main Campus. The school had its own dormitories, recreational facilities, kitchen and dining facilities, academic school, vocational workshops, and playgrounds. It enabled younger, lesser offenders to be separated completely from older offenders.
The Hackberry School, a training unit for 240 younger males, was situated three-quarters of a mile southeast of the old Main Campus. The school possessed all necessary facilities, including living, academic, recreational, and vocational accommodations. Its emphasis centered on the classification and treatment of younger males.
The Terrace School, one-half mile east of the old Main Campus, provided for the separation and classification of 240 youngsters of intermediate age and background.
The Riverside School was composed of two training units. One had complete facilities for living and recreation and for the academic and vocational training of 160 younger Negro offenders. The other was created by renovating and remodeling existing housing and training facilities. The latter unit accommodated 160 older Negro males.
The Hilltop School, formerly the Main Campus, provided facilities for classification and treatment of 250 young male offenders less sophisticated in delinquent activities than those housed in Mountain View School. The overall daily population averaged for all five units of the Gatesville school in 1969 was about 1,830.
Bibliography: Texas Youth Council, Annual Report (1965); Texas Almanac (1969).
by William T. Field