Sue Buffkin Papers

1968-1991
Manuscript Collection #1319
Creator(s)
Buffkin, Sue, 1925-2012
Physical description
0.45 Cubic Feet, 1 archival box, consisting of minutes, notes, correspondence, essays, publications, and reports
Preferred Citation
Sue Buffkin Papers (#1319), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Repository
ECU Manuscript Collection
Access
Access to audiovisual and digital media is restricted. Please contact Special Collections for more information.

Sue Buffkin taught language arts in the 1970s and 1980s at Samarkand Manor (also spelled Samarcand Manor) in Eagle Springs, Moore County, North Carolina, a rehabilitation center for delinquent children. She was also a historian for the school. Her papers include her secretarial minutes and notes (1974-1984) for faculty and general staff meetings, very limited correspondence, student essays, the 50th anniversary publication (1968), and reports and publications (1971-1991) such as the student publication The Straw (1977), the staff publication The Samarkand Communiqué (1990, 1991), and an undated Samarkand Behavior Code.


Biographical/historical information

Sue Addor Buffkin was born 26 March 1925, and died 7 August 2012. She was educated at Aberdeen High School, Rabun Gap College, and Flora McDonald College. During her career, she taught at Greenwood High School and Aberdeen High School, as well as Samarkand (or Samarcand) Manor in Eagle Springs, Moore County, North Carolina. She taught language arts at Samarkand, a rehabilitation center for delinquent children, and was also the historian for the school. Buffkin taught at Samarkand in the 1970s and 1980s, but was involved with the school into the 1990s in her role as a historian.

Samarkand Manor, also known as the State Home and Industrial School for Girls, was a correctional center established in 1918. The site was formerly the Marienfield Open-Air School for boys, which opened in 1914, but was purchased a few years later in 1917 by the North Carolina State Legislature and turned into a girls' correctional center. The institution provided a safe home for troubled girls, as well as a variety of vocational training and skills such as sewing, canning, and farmwork. Controversially, the school was also the site of many forced sterilizations as recently as the 1950s. In 1974, the school was officially renamed Samarkand manor when it came under the purview of the North Carolina Department of Human Resources, Youth Division. At this time, it became open to both male and female children and young adults, and shifted its focus from vocational training to therapy and treatment.

The facility was closed in 2011 due to state budget cuts and remained vacant until 2012, when it was taken over by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety as a training facility. Construction of several new buildings and improvements to others began shortly afterward. These improvements were completed in 2017. That same year, the first class of law enforcement students graduated from the school. It is still open and educating law enforcement students as of 2019.

Sources

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/171658034/sue-buffkin

https://www.ncpedia.org/samarcand-manor-ENC

https://www.ncdps.gov/dps-services/samarcand-training-academy/history-samarcand

https://www.wunc.org/post /bad-girls-eugenics-and-samarcand-manor


Scope and arrangement

This collection contains various types of material from Sue Buffkin's personal papers, relating to her time as a teacher and historian at Samarkand Manor. The bulk of the collection consists of memos concerning various elements of school administration and minutes of meetings about similar topics. The small amount of correspondence primarily includes letters between school administrators and government officials, and mostly does not relate specifically to Buffkin.

Other types of material in the collection are a history publication from the school's 50th anniversary in 1968, several issues of the school's student publication The Straw and faculty publication The Samarkand Communiqué, a program for the chapel dedication in 1975, and an undated behavioral code. The collection also contains insights into the lives of students at the school, including many personal essays written by students and a few behavioral reports.


Administrative information
Custodial History

October 12, 2017, .45 cubic feet; Sue Buffkin taught language arts in the 1970s and 1980s at Samarkand Manor (also spelled Samarcand Manor) in Eagle Springs, Moore County, North Carolina, a rehabilitation center for delinquent children. She was also a historian for the school. Her papers include her secretarial minutes and notes (1974-1984) for faculty and general staff meetings, very limited correspondence, student essays, the 50th anniversary publication (1968), and reports and publications (1971-1991) such as the student publication The Straw (1977), the staff publication The Samarkand Communiqué (1990, 1991), and an undated Samarkand Behavior Code. Gift of Robbie Buffkin Harter.

Source of acquisition

Gift of Robbie Buffkin Harter

Processing information

Processing completed by Emily DiBiase on May 14, 2019.

Copyright notice

Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.


Key terms
Personal Names
Buffkin, Sue, 1925-2012
Corporate Names
Samarkand Manor--History
Topical
Juvenile delinquents--Rehabilitation--North Carolina--Eagle Springs
Juvenile detention homes--North Carolina--Eagle Springs
Teachers--North Carolina--Eagle Springs

Container list
Box 1 Folder a Correspondence and Memos 1976-1991
Box 1 Folder b Notes and Minutes 1974
Box 1 Folder c Notes and Minutes 1975
Box 1 Folder d Notes and Minutes 1976
Box 1 Folder e Notes and Minutes, undated
Box 1 Folder f Minutes 1977
Box 1 Folder g Minutes 1978
Box 1 Folder h Minutes 1979
Box 1 Folder i Minutes 1980
Box 1 Folder j Minutes 1981
Box 1 Folder k Minutes 1982
Box 1 Folder l Minutes 1983
Box 1 Folder m Minutes 1984
Box 1 Folder n 50th Anniversary History Publication and notes, 1968
Box 1 Folder o Publications 1975, 1977, 1990, 1991, undated
Box 1 Folder p Reports and Miscellaneous Documents 1971-1985
Box 1 Folder q Student Essays, undated
Box 1 Folder r Student Essays, undated
Box 1 Folder s Behavioral Reports (Time-out Reports) 1975-1976