Samarcand Manor School Records, SR.5899

Samarcand Manor Record Group contains records pertaining to Samarcand Manor, originally the State Home and Industrial School for Girls, from 1915 to 2011. The records include administration materials such as correspondence, policies, procedures, handbooks, reference print materials, Board Meeting materials, reports, and grand jury investigations. It also contains academic materials such as curriculum, memorandum, student assessments, housing records, and student newsletters as well as memorabilia such as graduation announcements, programs, photographs, and other ephemera. This record group contains records restricted under public records law, General Statute 7B-3100. Records that expose the identity of juvenile offenders are restricted in access to the juvenile, their attorney, parent, or guardian or by order of the court.

There are seven boxes of manuscript materials and two boxes of photographs and slides available to the public. There are five boxes of restricted manuscript records, photographs, negatives, and slides. Six scrapbooks and seven visitor and gift logs are also restricted. Redacted copies of restricted records are included in the open manuscript records when possible.

The record group contains the following series: Reports (1925-1980); Student Newsletters (1922-1991); McNaughton Administration (1915-1933); Robeson Administration (1934-1944); Mitchell Administration (1944-1973); Reference Print Materials (1920 - 1973); Division of Youth Services (1976-2011); Photographs, Negatives, and Slides (1920-circa 2011); Administrative Binders (1935-1944); and Restricted Records.

The State Home and Industrial School for Girls, otherwise known as Samarcand Manor, was established in Eagle Springs in Moore County by the state of North Carolina in 1918 under the jurisdiction of the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare. Originally, the home was intended to address what was perceived to be a problem of loose and immoral women, known as "camp followers," who surrounded the troops training for WWI. The intention of the institution was to provided separation and rehabilitation, especially of the many juvenile girls.

With the enactment of juvenile court laws in 1919, the school worked toward focusing on and accepting only juvenile offenders who passed through the court system. During this time period, Samarcand housed girls and women from the ages of 5 to 30. Samarcand became a juvenile-only facility once the adult offenders were moved to the newly established Farm Colony for women in 1927. During this time period, the child welfare system also developed a foster care system for the very young, and Samarcand came to house only adolescents from the ages of 10 to 16. Samarcand remained a girls-only institution through its first three superintendents: Agnes McNaughton (1918-1934), Grace Robeson (1934-1944), Reva Mitchell (1944-1973).

In 1943, the institution was placed under the jurisdiction of the Board of Correction and Training, which later became the Department of Juvenile Corrections and by 1971 was the Division of Youth Services. This division originated under Corrections but was later placed under Human Resources. Later, juvenile services were returned to the jurisdiction of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. At some point under the jurisdiction of Human Resources, the school went coed and began accepting both male and female students. In 2002, it reverted to a female-only facility. Samarcand Manor closed in 2011, and the site is now used as a training facility for corrections and law enforcement officers.

1. Reports, 1925 - 1980

2. Student Newsletters, 1922 - 1991

3. McNaughton Administration, 1915 - 1933

4. Robeson Administration, 1934 - 1944

5. Mitchell Administration, 1944 - 1973

6. Reference Print Materials, 1920 - 1973

7. Division of Youth Services, 1976 - 2011

8. Photographs, Slides and Negatives, 1920 - Circa 2011

9. Administrative Binders, 1935 - 1944

10. Restricted Records, 1915 - 2011