Southwood College was founded in 1874 in
Salemburg,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
and closed in 1973. For many years, two schools, Edwards Military Institute and Pineland College, operated on the same site; on July 1, 1965, the institutions officially became Southwood College.
History
The history of Southwood College began in 1875. Isham Royal founded Salemburg Academy, a one-room, private educational institution for girls. Private academies such as Salemburg flourished before the widespread introduction of
public school
Public school may refer to:
* State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government
* Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...
s. One of the first principals was
Marion Butler
Marion Butler (May 20, 1863June 3, 1938) was an American politician, farmer, and lawyer. He represented North Carolina in the United States Senate for one term, serving between 1895 and 1901. At the time, he was a leader of the North Carolina P ...
, later U.S. senator from North Carolina. In 1914, the program reorganized as the Pineland School for Girls following receipt of a donation of $70,000 from Benjamin N. Duke, son of
Washington Duke
Washington Duke (December 18, 1820 – May 8, 1905) was an American tobacco industrialist and philanthropist. During the American Civil War he enlisted in the Confederate States Navy. In 1865, Duke founded the "W. Duke, Sons & Co.", a tobacco ma ...
, namesake of Duke University, and a commensurate contribution from local citizens
[NC Marker I-53, Pineland College - Edwards Military Institute]
.
In 1926, the curriculum was broadened, several more buildings constructed, and the library expanded. The school became Pineland Junior College and served as a female only institution. The Edwards Military Institute, was added and was named for Methodist minister Anderson Edwards, who had contributed his life savings to the construction of the military academy.
In 1952, the schools had the youngest college president in the United States,
Willard Jackson Blanchard Willard may refer to:
People
* Willard (name)
Geography Places in the United States
* Willard, Colorado
* Willard, Georgia
* Willard, Kansas
* Willard, Kentucky
* Willard, Michigan, a small unincorporated community in Beaver Township, Bay ...
, a World War II veteran, who at the time was thirty-two years old.
On July 1, 1965, the two schools merged and became Southwood College. The school closed its doors in 1973. That year, the
North Carolina Department of Justice
The Attorney General of North Carolina is a statewide elected office in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The attorney general is a constitutional officer responsible for representing state agencies in legal matters, supplying other state offici ...
took over the grounds, and developed the North Carolina Justice Academy for the training of North Carolina criminal justice officers.
The North Carolina Justice Academy still utilizes the Blanchard Learning Resource Center, the Royal Classroom Building, the Jones Auditorium, a cafeteria and an office building that were originally part of Southwood College.
[History of the Justice Academy]
.
Administration
Notes
References
* Oscar M. Bizzell, The Heritage of Sampson County (1983)
* William S. Powell, Higher Education in North Carolina (1964)
* (Raleigh) News and Observer, October 30, 1949
* Paul Pleasants, "One Small College Pays its Own Way," The State (July 1952)
* Don Britt, "Outstanding and Unique Facts About Pineland College-Edwards Military Institute," (typescript report in files of Research Branch, North Carolina Office of Archives and History, n.d.)
*
Defunct private universities and colleges in North Carolina
Educational institutions established in 1874
Educational institutions disestablished in 1973
1874 establishments in North Carolina
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