Stonewall Jackson Training School

Caption: “Corn cultivation at Jackson Training School at Concord” 79-639
Copied from original owned by J. Lee Pharr of Concord.

From the files of the North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives.

To read more about the Jackson Training School, see the following description at the State of North Carolina’s Highway Historical Marker page:

STONEWALL JACKSON TRAINING SCHOOL



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126 thoughts on “Stonewall Jackson Training School”

  1. A key ally in Concord editor J.P. Cook’s campaign for a reformatory: Anna Morrison Jackson, whose status as widow of Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson helped win over the many Confederate veterans in the 1907 legislature.

  2. I was there in 1963-1964,Iremember severe cruelty.I was 11 yr. old,my cottage parrent’s name was Eudy or something like that.He would hit me in face whith fist kick me and even make me and the other boys get naked,hold our penis out while he slaped it with a rubber strap that came from a scrub broom.Wewould have to get on our hands and knees with pieces of wool blankets to wax and buff the wood floors,if you slowed down before he told you to he would kick you in the ribs or butt.He was probally the most creul of the people in charge but there were many who you could see were getting enjoyment from beating us.My name is Jerry Moore my email is paintme@att.net and my phone#is 828-669-5695

  3. I also worked briefly on the farm,They would line us boys up,blow a whistle and we would begin picking.the whistle would blow again, that meant stop,if you hadn’t picked enough to please them they would beat the hell out of you with sticks.I Can remember blood trickling down my back and legs.They called it learning agriculture,I remember it as childhood slavery.After picking the crops of course the beans had to be snapped,peas shelled corn shucked.this was mostly done on the inside but the same creul methods were used,this time it was a woman with a paddle who beat us when we could’nt keep up.

  4. I support Jerry Moore and his courage to speak out. I was in Jackson Training School at the same time as he. Everything that he has said id true. I am now the founder of Just Detention International based in both Los Angeles and Washington DC. I am also a writer, and I an currently writing an autobiography, a portion of which concerns Stonewall Jackson Training School and the brutality there.
    Incidentally, if one wants to know how absolutely brutal the workers were, read this: I slept beside a bedwetter and my friend was on the other side of him. Mr. Thompkinson ordered us to stay awake every night to awaken him to keep him from peeing in the bed. Unfortunately, that did not work. So Mr. Thompkinson added a punishment. Whenever we failed to get the bedwetter up (and we always failed), Mr. Thompkinson would rub our faces in the wet sheets. Most of the time we were able to keep our faces away from the urinated part of the sheets, and since we were hardened to conditions there, we were somewhat dead to this added assault to our integrity. Then due to his special hatred toward me–I always seem to bring out the animosity in people–on one morning Mr Thompkinson made a point of rubbing my face in the worst part. This time I was totally humiliated. I told my work supervisor, Mr. Burris, and this one was so out in space that he was angered by it and rushed up to the main office. Mr. Thompkinson disappeared for three days, and then showed up again meaner than ever.

  5. I live right down the street from JTS and ive always wondered what happend there. All the buildings are old now and falling apart. The other day a few friends of mine and i went inside the very last cottage and then we went inside the cannon house at the very front. Can someone tell me what happend there? Why did it shut down? It seems like the people just dissapeared because theres still some chairs, piano’s, papers, radio/record players and everything in there. Can someone whos been there before tell me more things that went on there? thank you!

  6. I am interested in buying or having the building and chapel donated. Does anyone know who to get in touch with?

  7. Only the state of North Carolina would make a place like this a historical landmark.

  8. I was there in sept 1966 july 1967 they were bad bad the cottage parents or so called were rough I was in cottage 17 I ran from there 3 times and got caught put me in a jail a small room with just a bed and toilet for a week at a time. I went to school a half a day and work half a day .I worked in plumbing dept I think his name was mr. Burris.I was tranfered to swannoa in Black Mountion and released in feb 1968

  9. Dear Russell, Jerry, and Robert,
    I am very interested in hearing more about your experiences at Stonewall Jackson Training School. We represent a criminal defendant (now over 50 years old) who was at Stonewall Jackson in the very early 1970s. We are preparing for his sentencing by trying to find out as much as we can about the experiences of his youth. We’ve been told there were some pretty abusive practices. But I need to talk to some specific people who were there then and get some further documented details. Will you help me? My phone number is 802-676-3967 and my email address is ellewilson@wildblue.net. Please get in touch with me! Thanks! Laura Wilson, Guildhall, Vermont.

  10. I was there in the mid eighties.There was a few very good people there that helped influence me to be a better person,but,for the most part…It was a violent nightmare where staff pitted inmates against one another and even sexually abused the young boys.Rape was common and physical abuse by other inmates a daily ritual.All in all,It’s been several years now but I still have nightmares.I’ve spent my life trying to forget the lessons I learned there as a teenager.The stories I could tell…I saw it all in the two plus years I was incarcerated there.I have since been in prison and i can say that while prison is no picnic,It doesn’t hold a candle to Stonewall.It was truelly a “gladiator academy”.

  11. i was there to 1958 to 1960 i was a 2 timer was in cottage 5 (boney bill parrish) second time i was in cottage 9 miller good man still have places on my back where i was betten i hated mr henson #i cottage my nose was busted my mr parrish for cussing i eat soap too whiped with a bull penis by mr mullis ran in 1958 was rated on and was cought by boys in #cottage 1got whiped cherry limes and had to stand up to eat worked in llaundy (mr joe) good man my no#is 704 9225619 home 704 8846593 cell call me i remember ever thing about it it was a bad place mean people there

  12. it has to be some one out that was in cottage 5 1958 and 1959 and cottage 9 in 1960 would love to hear from some body ronnie morrow (704)922.5619

  13. Oh my gosh! I’m a 63 year old woman, and today I felt compelled to google “Jackson Training School, sexual abuse”. I have 2 brothers that spent a year in that school. A few years ago, one of my brothers told me stories about being sexually abused, and beaten while there. I figured it was too late to do anything about it, but it has haunted me ever since. So far, I have only read a couple of the posts made by other, but I plan to go read them all. I hope someone is planning on making this public. It makes me sick that there are people willing to talk, but no news media is picking up on it. I plan to call my brother as soon as I finish this post. People, you have got to make this more public! It was, and still is a crime!

  14. Just spoke with Jerry. I was unable to reach my brother by phone, but I intend to talk to him and then go public with what happened to these children. Jerry has lead a life that closely resembles the way my brothers turned out. These were not hardened criminals when they went into that place! Jerry played hookey from school, and my brothers broke into a cracker machine for food after running away from a a dad that beat them. I would love to hear from others that were sent to this place. What was your life like afterwards? How did you turn out? My email address is
    sandyjohn5221948@aol.com

  15. I was there from 1969 to 1970 and Believe me the stories I read today took me back to a very dark time in my life. I was in cottage # 9 and Mr Eudy was our so-called cottage parent…I worked on the farm when I first got to JTS. I was tired of getting my ass beat ( mass Punishment ) Duck walking up and down 3 stories of steps half the night or polishing the floors for hours because if One person messed up everybody paid .So I ran away also..Didn’t take long to catch a 14 year old walking the train track…I was beat AGAIN. First time my nose was broke.The lock up or (jail) for I think about a week was, Say it was a time you will never forget. Then the time came I had to fight the BEAR…If you were there you know..Well,Honestly I pretty much had forgot JTS until about 2 weeks ago as a truck driver I had a delivery in Harrisburg and I drove right by JTS.. I have been screwed up since. This morning for some reason I woke up with it on my mind and here I am..Now, I wonder about some of the guys that had it even worse than me like ,Tank and Dorsy.There was a guy, Larry..something. Mr Eudy made it public he was gay..Told everbody. Mr Eudy would stand by the shower door and watch everbody shower…And you better not get wood..Poor Kid..Got his ass beat daily..I took up for him one time and only one time..Had to fight the bear again..Budlight591@aol.com

  16. i was allso in cottage #9 1960 like i said mr.miller dont know when he left . mr and mrs was getting old when i was there .and i ducked walked up them 3story steps too . and i waxed them floors to when i was incottage#5 parrish hen is the one that busted nose ,and he allso watcted you took a shower and you better not have no water on you if you did that is where you got hit with that yard stick .mr parrish was evry mean too had a bony wife too and she was as mean as he was. about all people was mean down there .went to prison when i left there and i got troyall the boys i was at jts was there too i have been pretty streight since 1967 got married and have a wonderful family . i do still think about how mean them people was

  17. Me again remembering some more times at jts I worked as a meat cutter while there,seems like the man in charge of the meat dept. name was mr.Liskt something like that.He was a good man best I can rememrber .Being in cottage 9 with Eudy in charge kinda went like this. You would get up in the morning and hope you could make it untill breakfast without getting beat.then you were off to work or school.I enjoyed my work it was off to school,for me that was just another place to get beat.The 4th grade was the last grade I completed in public school but at jts they gave you a test and put you where-ever I was put in tenth grade and I was’nt able to do tenth grade work so that just ment I got beat that much more There was a science teacher who was always falling asleep,when he awoke He’d would walk around til he decided who to beat with his rubber strap and he would say heads,hand or tail and you best say tail because he would hit you just as hard on the head as he would the butt.I seen a boy fall off a farm truck and his head busted wide open,I ran to him took my shirt off and wraped around his head,the boy died,when I got back to cottage 9 Eudy beat the crap out of me because I had no shirt. often during the night the light would come on then you would hear Eudy say stand by your bed as he got to you you would pull your blanket and top sheet off.He would be looking for socks or wet sheets sometimes he would see someone had not flushed the toilet then he would grab the one Afro-American boy by the neck and star ducking his head in the toilet,I often thought he was going to kill him because he would keep his head in there so long.I can remember the whole cottage having to duckwalk around the ball field untill you fell out and then you knew you were all gonna get beat when you went in, depending on his mood if it would be with your clothes on or off.I wonder if Eudy is still alive,I would like to see him but I don’t think he would like to see me. PEACE

  18. mr miller must have retired in 61 or62 .the man that took his place must have been mean .mr miller was not that mean the first time i was down there in 1958 when i had it bad mr parrish was a mean old man .hated to eat them peanut butter sandichs on sat .even too.we did get to go see a movie ever thrus.night .but u better not talk in line or sitting down . in 1960 i worked in the laundy .i had a friend named harly hunt he worked in the laundy in the morning and i worked in the even we were in the same cottage #9 in march 1960 he was putting close in the big washer and got his arm hung ;it pulled his arm off .he was from pembrook n c i cant remember some things but i sure remember jts . mr lisk and his wife were the best people down there they both worked there .he had the mess hall and school too . would love to hear from some body that was down therein 5 or 9 58 to 60

  19. I am a Student in the 8th grade at Waddell Language Academy in charlotte NC. I am doing a Project on Human Injustice and i chose Training Schools. I would like to interview someone who was in the Training School or knows someone who was.

    Sincerely,
    Meg Brown

  20. Incarcerated twice…for not having a home. They were still locking boys up in closets when I got there. Where do I start. Older boys looking for oral sex or ass raping the younger boys, the bullying, having things stuck up your ass, crotch grabbing and posing, I’m your daddy and the confusing sex talk, the constant fear from the savagery of the other boys and the cruelty and brutality of the cottage parents, the hopelessness and feeling of abandonment. It was all true.
    I was in cottage six in 1961 with Mr. Hill who was a decent man. I was 10 years old the first time I had a broom stick stuck up my ass. In 1963 I was with Mr. Hooker at cottage fourteen and worked with Mr. Reeling in the print shop. He was a story by himself and liked gay boys. He earned their favors with cigarettes. I got my front teeth knocked out by Mr. Edmonston the typing teacher for not standing straight in line at the school house one afternoon.
    When my last year was up I had no place to go and thought I would never leave so I ran. I ran and ran and ran some more. Then I got the shit beat out of me regularly at Cottage 17 by laying across a bench naked. Three grown men took their time to beat you so bad you almost passed out. Anybody remember Mr. Sloop and Mr. Hinson. It was beyond pain and very sadistic. Then they made you take a shower to wash the blood off and put you in a cell for a week on the floor so the welts would go down. There is so much more I could tell.
    My last punishment was working in the slaughter house with Mr. Faggart who was a mean man on the surface. Probably one of the meanest men you didn’t want to cross. But I didn’t let him get to me and even though it was hauling guts off and man handling animals to slaughter them I earned his respect and he gave me the only citation I ever received. I still have it and it ranks right up there with my college degree and my honorable discharge.
    One night a couple of years ago I had not thought of Jackson in 30 years and woke up in a sweat and wrote a blurb about a couple of incidents that happened to me while I was there. If you were there you might remember the night Ronnie Granada took a dive out the bedroom window on the third floor. I would be glad to share if your interested. Skinose2@hotmail.com

  21. johnny d i remember mr hill mr paggert #7 henderson #8 receiving cottage i also remember coggins a 6grade teacher all said i was gonna look him up he was mean too mr faggert in the one that whiped me so bad in the old cotton mill #16 behind the big rock wher ethe bell was mr henson # 1was evry mean too if johnny d see this lets talk

  22. I was there in 1964 as a 14 year old boy. I witnessed some of the cruelest brutality that would be unbelievable to the public. I was beaten several times with fists, switches around my neck, and sometimes when I hadn’t done anything the man on the yard that I worked for, (I think Mr. Suther) would pop a switch around your neck just for the fun of it. A favorite punishment of the cottage parents was to hold a child’s foot up and hit their bare foot with a ruler or strap until you could hardly stand it. This was called a “hot foot.” One of the boys there was run over by a dump truck and killed. The trucks came barreling in and never slowed down for anyone. If you were in the way, they ran you down. I’ve seen other boys beaten unmercifully, blood flying out of their faces. I ran away after 3 months determined to never go back. Feel free to contact me, as I have other accounts of abuse. I am now a pastor of a Baptist Church in Lenoir, NC for over 30 years.

  23. I just set up a Facebook group named “Stonewall Jackson Training School.” Please come by and join and feel free to share your stories.

    I was in Jackson back in 1967 in Cottage 17 — the same time as Robert Duckworth, who posted above about when he ran off and was put in the jail… I remember that!

    I’m really glad to see guys who were there sharing their stories. The stories need to be told and people who haven’t suffered that kind of brutality need to hear how things were just a few short years ago.

    Here’s a link to the Facebook group…

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/118080228322359/

    It’s open to everyone, whether you were there or not.

  24. I am going to Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and I found this site because I’m doing a photography project on old abandoned places. I had never even heard of Stonewall Jackson School until today. I also love to write and would absolutely love to interview some of you. the first thing that came to my mind when I read these posts is to either write a book or at least put an article in the news paper. If anyone is interested in letting me interview them and getting your story out there please contact me.
    E-mail: chelsealeece@gmail.com

    Thank You,
    Chelsea Davis

  25. I was there in 1956-1957 yes we were beaten made to work like dogs and many of us were sterilized involuntarily I recieved a dishonorable discharge because I kept running awa. I’m told I was the only person to get one of these. Horror doesn’t begin to describe hat went on there. Many were raped not just by older inmates but by staff als. We were sent out to work in fields all day for the “wardens friends Too may bad memories.

  26. I used to deliver milk there. That was a VERY creepy place. I delivered in the 90s so the buildings were already crumbling, but they still had boys there. Now I am researching kannapolis and concord for my Master’s thesis, and I happened upon this site. Interesting. My research is more about textiles than training schools, but there seems to be a cultural connection. I just wanted to say that I am proud of anyone who has the courage to speak out against those who abused them. It is terrible that these things happened, but it demonstrates just how long it took for the “slave mentality” to dissipate in the south (sharecroppers, tenant farmers, and now “delinquent” boys. Very interesting.

  27. Can someone tell me where this place is located? While on Old Charlotte Rd, my husband and I came across what looked like an old prison, with a center stand where officers would stay….am I talking about the same place? if not….what is this place called. I am interested in both. The horror stories are unbelievable. So sorry for all those who have came across this horrible place!

  28. I live near there, and just got permission a few years ago to go in and photograph the old buildings. I had heard all the stories (as my neighbor, 90+ years old) was named after Stonewall Jackson and his family were friends with the Jacksons…he knew all the true stories of abuse.
    I do know firsthand, that years ago when I lived in Misenheimer and commuted daily down Hwy. 49 to south Charlotte to my job, I saw a runaway boy out in a field one morning. An apparent security officer or guard was beating him on his back with a billy stick. I called police and went on to work, but never heard anything else about it. Apparently he was attempting to run away. This was a horrible piece of NC history; these children were just what we call today victims of ADHD, or mischevious youngsters and they were bean and treated so inhumanely. Nothing glorious about Stonewall Jackson Training School.

  29. I had forgotten about this web site, but it sure has generated some interest. I tried to get on the Facebook page concerning Jackson Training School a while back but it goes no where. I really think somebody ought to write a book about the cruelty and brutality that went on there. I tried to write something and would be glad to share it with you or collaborate with anyone who is interested on doing something further. Its a miracle that we made it. I don’t owe any thing of who I am or who I have become to Jackson Training School. It was a bitter sad experiment by the state of North Carolina to handle wayward children. Today those cottage parents, supervisors and staff would be in jail. Many folks are interested in the sterilizations and completely miss the real story. If they sterilized boys it was done off campus and that is where you should look. I only knew one kid they did that too because he told me and he tried to show me the scar. I tell you what…if you have a story and can be specific about who beat you and where I will write your story. Tell me any and everything that you saw about what happened to us. I always wanted to go back as a grown man and met my tormenters and tell them that what they tried to do was wrong. I wanted to point out that some people are capable of anything. skinose2@hotmail.com

  30. Jerry moore here,I just went to the facebook mentioned above and could’nt beleive the comments I was reading by Kaye Cook and Sherry Simpson For them to state this was such a nice place and no boys were abused is absolutely insane.While most of the abuse I’m sure did’nt happen in front of these Sadistict mens daughters I don’t think they could have seen nothing.While they talk of the beautiful wood floors,maybe they were never present while the boys were on their hands & knees buffing with a folded up piece of wool blanket with their Daddy’s foot kicking them in the ribs or butt when they slowed down from exaustion.when then talk about the truck loads of watermelons,this is true but she does’nt talk about all the beatings the boys got while they were growing and picking them,nor do they mention how some boy’s were forced to eat whole watermelons then were beat and made to duck walk around the field untill they fell over and then beat again because they could’nt continue to duck walk,nor do they mention that would certainly be one of the many nights the lights would come on to see how many boys wet the bed so they could rub your face in it.they would beat you for going to the bathroom they would beat for not going to the bathroom.They mention the nice gamerooms in the cottage’s In cottage 9 there was a ping pong table in the basement but I mostly seen it used as something for us lined-up naked boys to lein over and take our turn getting beat.They mention boys were there for violent crimes,maybe thats what daddy told them,I was there for truancy ( laying out of school ) too bad these women can’t go back in time,become one of the boys and experience the horro of what was going on,on the other side of their little pink bedrooms.I take that back,I would not wish that on anyone other than their daddy’s.

  31. many kids were beaten to the point of black eyes,busted lips knocked out teeth broken limbs and you might ask why did you not tell some one.To tell some one only got you a repeat beating.If your family came to visit you once a month they would never see the abuse,if you had signs of phisical abuse your family would be informed you could have no visitors for disciplanary reasons.I remember Eudy the man in charge of # 9 making us all line up around the ping-pong table as we came out of the community shower still naked,making us line up so close that our penis would be pressing the butt of the boy in front of you.as you aproched Eudy He would take your penis in his hand and then slap it with a rubber strap that came off a scrub/squeggie brush If your penis had enlarged from rubbing against the boy in front of you ,that would bring a smile to Eudy’s face and you would get some extra licks

  32. who were these girls daddies i remember cottage parants had kids i was in #5 cheeks had kids better not look at them eather cheek was in #4big mean man . boney bill #5 busted my nose with the palm of his hand for cussing and them made me eat soap.he watched you take a shower ever nignt and youbetter not have no water on you any where ,he had a yard stick he hit you with . jerry talk about #9 eury .i left in nov.25th1960 and miller was there then ,he was good but he had mean sides too.did eury have a wife there too? and i ducked walked up them steps more than one night .and i used them ary blankets many night too eury must have been like mr.henson in #1 i hated him too mrand mrs honeycutt#10 was pretty good iwas there when they took over #10 .i stayed there 22month and 10 days and i never say athing beautiful about it . how long had mr miller been gone when you was in#9 herd he fell out of a boat and drowned

  33. jane and kay cheek livedin #4 i remember them playing out front of #4iwas in #5 and we had to stay out front of #5 no room out back .they were both little girls then .both were real pretty too.i wonder what year they tore the school house down .i remember mr.caldwell as being my teacher .saw in the paper a few years ago where he died also saw where wade honeycutt died too #10

  34. Eudy of # 9’s wife the best I can remember was not bad looking,kinda plain and skinny.They had a son,probally 2 or 3 yr.old. I was pretty good at playing checkers,It was rare when I would loose.Eudy made me play him and when I won He slapped me acrossed the face so hard it knocked me out of the chair,made me play again,I won and got slaped numerous times,played again and let him win I got beat for not trying.This went on for about a month,I never let him win again,I knew I was going to get beat either way so I might as well beat him in checkers.Always wanted to go back as adult and give him a taste of his own medicine. Don’t mean to sound redneck I very much enjoy living a peacefull life these days

  35. did you hear any talk about mr miller when did he leave i had the cloth house when i was in #9 locker was #8

  36. I knew a man who worked here. His name was Hoyt Sloop. He seemed like a really nice old man but reading the stories made me feel otherwise. Was he mean too?

  37. mr.sloop came there aruond late 58 i think .i do know when you got whiped for running him and mr hinson and mr faggart was the ones that done the whiping .it was no cottage 16 but they called it 16 where you got whiped at (old cotton mill) front of #5 about all those old people passed by now when i ran in 58 parrish was my cottage parant but he didnt whip me mr,faggart did he showed no mercy on a 12 year old

  38. Mr. Morrow,

    When you say “whipped” how do you mean that? Like a bull whip? Was this all that he did? Was he any different than the other staff? I appreciate your stories. I rode by this place for years when I was at the armory across the street. (National Guard Armory) I think it was put in around 1983.

  39. man there was no bull whips when i said whiped i mean with a hickory limb or a paddle or what ever they wonted to whip you with .mr mullis had adried out bulls penis that he whiped you with all cottage parants had something they whiped you with most of them just opened handed smacked the h.. out of you hope that answered your quest

  40. i never spoke to that man what he did i dont know he was no cottage parant the less you said the better off you was

  41. I was in JTS in from 1968-1969. Anyone that would like to talk to me, feel free to call me at (910) 934-2196. Sandy feel free to call me. I was in cottage #5 and will tell you all about my experience there. When I went to JTS I weighed 94 lbs. and was 15 years old. When I got out I weighed 135 lbs. I would like to talk to some of the boys that were in there when I was in there. The truck driver that posted on this site, I laughed my ass off. The guy who left a comment about JTS and said there was no abuse, he does not know a damn thing about JTS. It was a horrifying experience there and always abuse.

  42. who was the cottage parants in#5 in 69 if it was boney bill parrish it would have been bad you never knew if he was gonna hit you with that stick he carried if you wasnt there then all you know is what you hear .it was bad in 58 59 and 60 i was 12 in #5 in 58. 13 in 60 in #9 14 when i left in 60 i know how bad it was

  43. A friend of mine was sent to Jackson Reform School in Spring of 1970. His name is Don Cisson. We were finishing up our Freshman year at Valdese High so he was 13 or 14. He lived here with his grandmother. I always wondered why I never heard of him again. Does anyone remember him? I don’t even know if it was true he was sent to the school. You know how the rumor mill in schools go. Whether I learn anything or not I am glad I read some of these post. I was told it was bad but nobody knew just how bad it was. I am sorry for those who were treated this way.

  44. I was there In 1965 I was in cottage 3 mr lowders i think.And right off the bat when I got there there was abuse from cottage 7 as a neewbie we caught hell for 2 weeks. omg all the storys we could tell I wish there was some way we could all meet there one day.I am a f/b member of Jackson Training School omg all the people who are asking questions about it and was never there .They want to know everything the good and the bad I do

  45. I was in SJTS for 2 years 98′ & 99′ . I have many memories some horrible and some not so bad . I actually had some fun there guess it might have just been a difference in time era. I played on the softball team, the football team, and the swim team too. Yeah we fought from time to time …. and you win some and lose some too. I also acheived alot at SJTS; I got my G.E.D. at the age of 16 there, I also worked in the maintenance dept. instead of going to normal high school classes and made 45cents / hr. That gave me some money I could pull out of my account (but only $7.00 per week) to buy food and snacks. Mr. Wilson was my favorite dorm staff, he would let the boys be boys as long as you didnt bring blood we enjoyed that it was kind of like a time to vent. The original cottages were no longer in use then. We had four main dorms Kirk North & South , and Mac North & South. Kirk south was orientation level mainly. You also had the C.A.P.P.S. unit for more habitual problematic offenders, and the short term lock down unit there too but i cant remember the exact name of the lock down unit, (AD-Seg) i think, even though I spent a few weeks there. I would definately like to go back and mentor to the individuals there. They need to know that just because they are there doesnt mean they are bad people they’re just young and have made some bad decisions.Don’t get me wrong if you do the crime you deserve the time. Now I’m in my 30’s with a family of my own. I work hard at two jobs, and it took along time for me to get my stuff together, but its together. I feel sorry for all the people who have had to endure the stuff they did in the 1940’s – 1960’s .

  46. I was transfered to jackson from another reformatory in rocky mount in 1971. for me it really wasnt that big of deal. looking back on things some of the foster homes i was farmed out to was much worse. i left jackson dec. 15 71 as fate would have it i would be in and out of these type places for the next 20+ years.its all good. the structered style living was just what the docter ordered, i am convinced had i not been exposed to these type places i would have got a worse deal somewhere else. i thank the good lord for all the morbid confines that constrained me in my early years as well as for my tormentors. what dont kill you only makes you stronger. god bless and keep the faith.

  47. I was there in 1967 at the age 13 for car theft. I was there for one year and one day, in cottage 9. Mr Eudy was there for his first year. When I left I had 37 or so writeups. One away from the record. I worked in the bakery for most of the time. Mrs Bost was in charge of the cafeteria. I was abused plenty and had to fight a lot. We had what was called the Bear, the toughest fighter. At the rate North Carolina is going they will start putting pad-locked tops on cribs as they leave the nursery. The place turned out a first class hood. Since then I have done an additional 15 years. It all ended when I left N.C.

  48. i HAVE BEEN READING ALL THE COMMENTS AND iM SO SORRY YOU HAD TO BE THERE AND BE TREATED THAT WAY, I HOPE THEY FIND THE ONES THAT ARE STILL A LIVE AND PUT THEM IN PRISON,I DONT CARE HOW OLD THEY ARE, ( NOBODY DESIRES TO BE TREATED THAT WAY ,NO MATTER WHAT THEY HAVE DONE) A dOG DOESNT EVEN GET TREATED THAT WAY, IM SO SORRY FOR ALL THEY DID. I HOPE THEY CAN FIND THE ONES THAT ARE ALIVE AND PUNISH THEM.

  49. Mr. white? what the fuck are you talking about it wasnt that bad when you where there? you must be black or deaf and dump b/c from what i am reading, the 60,s and 70’s was a breeze compared to what some of the juviniles went throguh while i was there. people where killed, raped, molested tortured.. i can keep going but i’ll save that for later. the staff where worse than the hardcore juviniles.. i been to prison and its a walk in the park compared to that place. if you were black in that place you were ok. they actually had personal relationships with the staff there and if they were favored, could get away with anything there. when a juvenile got on a staffs badside, and they felt like they need to be delt with, they would have some other juvi in there take care of it for them. alot of time they would turn their backs on us when we were being mistreated by the inmates there. i know of several guys that were being raped by the staff. even the chaplin was raping boys there. we had it bad.. im not gonna go into details about what happened to me but people were still being castrated or sterilized when i left.. it was just in a less human way. other inmates would get syringes from the staff there and have them take of whatever they wanted done just because they didnt like that person or what. and getting help from the outside was not an option. that is another story. they would monitor all the visits and search you b4 go to a visit to check for notes going out. and i know what you are going to say.. the room is so big and loud.. there is no way you could hear anything or be able to tell if what is being said by whom, even if every table was bugged.. but you could and they had the technology to do it. the technology they were using wasnt provide and paid for by the state.. it was stolen tech from the goverment that they had. there was something more dark and evil going on there than any of this bullshit i am talking about. there was an illegal operation being run by the people working there and it was probably state wide of even went national. and if it was ever discovered, it probably would have been covered up. i was there at the same time mR. WHITE SAID HE WAS THERE. sont listen to him.. it was alot worse than just the fucking 50’s or 60’s. He was black and had it made there b/c of his race.

  50. I love reading stories about SJT. Not only because they are funny, but also because I spent over two years there in the 80’s. I can’t speak on life there before me or after me, however, I can and in great detail, tell what it was like when I was there. For unknown reasons people keep talking about gladiator style fighting and rape ( Eli ) during the mid 80’s. Stop telling lies in an attempt to gain sympathy. True, if you could not fight you got your ass beat. Other than that, it was nothing. For those of you who never was sent there keep in mind that this school was a place for young and hardened criminals who could not adapt in society. With that being said, why should it be a piece of cake full of love and ABC affection? If that’s what you wanted then you should have stayed out of trouble. In addition to being at SJT I also spent 3yrs at Dobbs in Kinston. By far SJT was a better place in every aspect and Dobbs was even soft. Another thing, as for staff being abusive, all they wanted to do was sleep, eat, and chill. During my 29 months at Jackson I can honestly say I never seen a staff hit a kid. As for rape, if you were raped then you must have been a young closet fag who wanted it and kept it hush hush. I don’t even recall ever seeing a fag there. For those who want to know about the school who was never there hit me up. rob.april2009@gmail.com

  51. As for it being about blacks who had it easy that’s not the case. Race never played a factor when I was there. There were mean big white boys who could hold their own just as blacks. Either you were a coward who ran or you had heart and fought back. Of course the cowards were picked on. Should have never got in trouble if you wanted a pie life minus the drama.

  52. I was raised in Oxford Orphanage – late 40’s to late 50’s.
    Two men came from JTS during that peroid: Tom Adams, who ran the farm and Mr. Davis – ran the dairy.
    Does anyone who went thru JTS remember either one of these men – any comments?
    Thanks!

  53. My father was Ronnie Fink. He was placed at Jackson Training school at a teenager between 1960’s-1970’s. He had a younger brother Curtis Fink that suffered as well here but the stories were silenced by their fear. Does anyone know either one of the people. My father Ronnie Fink came out of this place with so much anger in him that he lived a troubled life. He later died of Cancer. His Brother is still living but also lived a trouble life battling his demons with drugs. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

  54. The stories about being fighters is true….for sure! My father Ronnie Fink was a fighter. He learned boxing in this place and meaning times spoke of fighting until he had beaten the other person until they couldn’t fight anymore. My father was forced to do this to other boys because he would be beaten himself. The fighting was a sport for the staff members…..they enjoyed watching! Extremely Cruel and Violent.

  55. I know Mr Sloop and I can say I have never met a kinder man who truly cared about the boys. Also knew Mr Joe (laundry) Mr Walt (barber) The Cheeks & a Mr Floyd Parrish. All were and are fine people. I am sure some abuse may have happened, but I would doubt any of these people participated or knew about it. I also knew Dr Craven who came everyday after his office and hospital duties to treat the boys.

  56. There was an article in Sunday’s 10/6/13 Charlotte Observer about this place. My husband was there in the mid 60’s, he was 12. He has mentioned how bad things were there, being punched in the face by a house parent. He had forgotten some of the torture, until yesterday. I believe the way he was treated hardened him as an adult. Too many stories for the abuse to not have happened. Hope these adults rot in hell.

  57. Does anyone remember my father Ronnie Fink. He would have been at the school in the 1960’s. He has passed away but I would like to understand him…..he also had a younger brother named C

  58. I heard the horror stories from my grandmother (my dads mother) guilt ate her alive. My father was a tough strong and viewed by most as a MEAN guy that you didn’t want to mess with. The stories my grandmother told me were horrific but my father never spoke of them. When he was young….he was a fighter, boxer and he learned a lot of these skills from the School. The staff enjoyed watching the young boys fight….it was considered a sport.

  59. Could anyone tell me anything about James and Ona Henderson? They were my great-grandparents, I would love to hear ANY stories anyone has to share.

  60. when I was young our house backed up to the woods that terrymore apts. are now. when any of the boys escaped, someone would ring the large bell that sat on one of the big rocks to warn everyone in the community. the boys would often run into those woods & my sweet daddy would give them either some cokes, a few cigarettes, & maybe some change….some were so pitiful….then someone got the great idea to make the school co-ed….what an idiot!! knew the honeycutts…wade & mary ellen…hope they were decent house parents…..would go in the summertime for produce & maybe even meat (can’t really remember)….& would drive thru every Christmas to see the beautiful Christmas lights…..guess the beauty of the lights tried to hide all the ugliness that was inside…..may God bless each of you “young boys”

  61. j.harris i knew mr.joe too worked for him in the laundry the whole year of 1960 he was one of the best man at jts he was good to all us boys in the laundy.i cant say that about mr parrish i was in his cottage#5in 1958 and 1959 he was very mean and carried a stick ever where he went .his wife was mean too she loved to smack us in the face .she had boney hands and they hurt .mr parrish nick name was boney bill 1remember mr sloop too ithink he came there in around 59 or 60 he was mean too he done most of the whippings at what we called #16 cotton mill where they whiped you when you ran mr hinson and mr cheeks did too and mr faggart so say wht you wont about the people iknow i was there and saw where hoyt sloop died the other day .iwas in #9 in 1960 mr miller him and his wife were also good cottage parants i was a 2timer there i saw alot

  62. Just curious if the survivor of these atrocities became fathers and raised children of their own, we’re you able to break the cycle of abuse to your own children especially your sons? What level of discipline did use to control your own children?

  63. I was there 1980 threw 1982 when i ran away from my step father beating me and not going to school because of the bruises. That was like living in hell i will never forget the horrors that happend to me. I had reported some of the stuff to the counslers that was there but they didnt do anything who would belive a kid ?

  64. I was in (hell) jts in 1977 and if any one said that the abuse stoped in the 60sTHAY WOULD BE WRONG!! My number is 573-205-3812 you can call me if the truth is what you want!!!!!

  65. You can see a story by going to Charlotte observer & then put in stonewall jackson or children against monsters

  66. To Sandy Eudy,I can’t remember Eudy first name,He was married with one son that was about two years old in 1963 or 1964 His wife was a slim woman who did not partisapate in his monsterous ways while I was there. If eudy is still alive,He would probally be about 85 yr.old. Hopefully bad things happened to him & He is Burning in HELL

  67. I to was there in 1959 and 1960. What a PLACE!!!!!! I went in as a child for laying out of school and, was treated like a Criminal!!! I was also beat constantly and, made to do the duck walk many times. I remember I got smacked in the face just for looking at the cottage parents wife!!! I was in cottage 3 ( I think). I remember Mr. Cheek, Mr. Henderson, Mr, Eudy and, a few others. Any kid that went there was doomed for HELL!!!!!!! If these things happen today like it did back then, alot of those Cottage Parents would be LOCKED UP for a LONG TIME!!!!!!! I only wish I could have seen that happen. NO-ONE knows the pure HELL that the kids went throuh while they were there except the ones that went there!!!!! To each of you, I say, WE MADE IT!!!!!!!!! AND, We will NEVER FORGET THAT PLACE!!!!!! Nothing but BAD Memories.

  68. Everyone knows that Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Florida produced an entire cemetery of boys who were murdered by staff because they had certain reputations or kept running off, etc. Most of you were not even born when the same situation was found at Tucker Farm in Arkansas. It became so common everywhere. The whispers were that boys would be killed in Cottage 17 (a building far out on the farm) and buried at the bottom of the cliff between the cliff and the railroad tracks, where the chapel (seldom used) was at the top of the cliff.
    I am Russell Dan Smith, founder in 1980, of People Organized to Stop Rape of Imprisoned Persons (POSRIP), now called Just Detention International (JDI). The demonstrably terrible conditions at Jackson destroyed the potential of thousands of young men. When I was 15 years old, I was in Central Prison in Raleigh. It seemed that every other person I saw had been at Jackson. Even those boys who had been bullies at Jacson were chasened by the rapes inflicted upon them in the adult prisons. I had a long 20 year stretch from Jackson to the United States Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas. What kept me from going back was the help I received due to my notoriety as an anti- prison rape activist. At that time the idea of not even heard of and those who had heard of it said, “Get over it!” Now, prison rape is an issue virtually everyone is aware of. But those same naysayers who hoorahed rape are now doing so at the fact of being at Jacksoon. This may be another issue for me to get behind. I will consider it.

  69. The following is an excerpt from my autobiographic book now in progress. Research is found on numerous corroborating websites computor. (Check out Albert Pike.)
    “There is a reason why JTS was so horrific, the reason falling into two disturbing categories: the Ku Klux Klan and the Freemasons. Well, actually, that is only one category involving the two related groups. Everybody knows that the Ku Klux Klan is tied in with the American Nazis and the Skinhead Movement, etc. Everybody knows that the Freemasons are affiliated with the Rosicrusians and the Theosophists, and so forth. Very few are aware that the Klan and the Masons are related to each other and will often work together on a given project. This is due to a man named Albert Pike, who was so influential in virtually all forms of ritualism that his is the only statue in Washington, D.C., of a Confederate officer and oddly an officer not well-known amongst most circles.
    “Pike was the leader of a Confederate guerrilla regiment that murdered numerous civilians in the areas of Kansas and Nebraska. Quantrell’s Raiders was another Confederate guerrilla force in the area of Kansas and Missouri, this force including such notorious individuals as Jesse James. Before the Civil War, Pike had become the leader of a Confederate organization called the Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC), a secret society. The KGC numbered as many as 500,000 members including such people as Jesse James and John Wilkes Booth. The original objective of the KGC was to annex a golden circle of territories in Mexico (which would be divided into 25 slave states), Central America, northern South America, and Cuba and the rest of the Caribbean for inclusion in the United States as slave states. As anti-slavery agitation increased after the Dred Scott Decision was issued by the U.S. Supreme Court, the members proposed a separate confederation of slave states, with U.S. states south of the Mason-Dixon line to secede and to align with other slave states which would be formed from the KGC. In either case, the goal was to increase the power of the Southern slave-holding upper class to such a degree that it could never be dislodged.
    “After the Civil War, the KGC went underground and became a secret society. The KGC’s new mission was to support a second Confederate uprising against the U.S. Federal Government, one that never occurred. Furthermore, the James-Younger Gang in the west was the principal source of funds for the second U.S. Civil War. In line with this it is said that Jesse James and Cole Younger were in charge of raising the funds that would support the second war. These gangs are noted for robbing and stealing large funds (including gold) in their robberies, but they are not known to have spent any of the money on themselves beyond immediate needs.
    “Albert Pike was a 33rd degree Mason. He studied at Harvard, and then later served as a Brigadier-General in the Confederate Army. After the Civil War, he was found guilty of treason in absentia. He had escaped to British Canada. (During the war, Great Britain had supported the Confederacy.) This proved to be temporary, because he was pardoned in 1866 by fellow Freemason, President Andrew Johnson. The President met with him the next day at the White House. On June 20, 1867, Scottish Rite officials conferred upon the President the 4th to 32nd Freemasonic degrees, and he later went to Boston to dedicate a Masonic Temple. . . .
    “Some say that he was the founder of Freemasonry, but that is not true. The truth is that his writings served to reform American Freemasonry to bring it more closely in association with the Klan. That being said, Pike has also been named an influential person in the early Ku Klux Klan, being named in 1905 as “the chief judicial officer” of the Klan. ”
    There is much more but the fact was that some (like my boss Mr. Burris) was a Freemason, while others were Kluxers. These are the people who were supervising (read: dog-beating) us.

  70. I have started a yahoogroups page for us, meaning for our people.I was there 1963 – 1965 in Cottage 13, Mr. Thompkinson (Ku Klux Klansman) and worked in the plumbing shop, Mr. Burris (Freemason). Thompkinson enjoyed beating us. He had a thing called “Prayer Meeting” where each of us lined up. His two P.C.’s would be first in line. I had incurred his wrath to such a degree that he always put me at the rear of the line. As for the 25 give-or-take others, they ran up to vie for a place as close to the front as they could. The first boy got one whack. The second got two. (By the way, P.C.’s were simply glorified snitches.) By the time he got to me, he forgot any count at all. Of course, I was not going to let him know it hurt. I would lay on that table without a word or a move. Some boys would tell me that he would hit me so hard that it would lift him off of the floor.
    When my bunk neighbor wet the bed, Thomkinson would rub my face in the urine-filled sheets for not waking him up at midnight.
    Some of us believe that boys were buried between the bottom of the cliff and the railroad tracks at the top of which was the chapel. (Don’t believe it? Bodies have been dug up at Doziers Boys School in Marianna, Florida and Tucker Farm in Arkansas. I suspect that these murders have been much more common than most people think.)
    Often a boy would be taken to the “Disciplinary Committee” where he would be beaten by three men from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet. We all knew about that and most of us saw the after-effects. That was done in Cottage 17 way out on the farm. The cages were there. It was also where the certain boys disappeared from.
    That place was horror scary.
    To post a message: stonewalljacksontrainingschool@yahoogroups.com
    To subscribe to the group:
    stonewalljacksontrainingschool-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

  71. Hello “I’d really not say” I understand what you mean. But don’t be so hard on Mr. White. He wasn’t in our peer group. We were in the 1940’s through 1960’s. There was no torture before 1940. There was no torture after 1970. You and I simply had the misforture to fall in JTS in a period of two decades when Freemasons and Ku Klux Klan had taken it over. Mr. White and others all find it hard to believe that these things happened to us
    We just need to talk to them without anger. I know you are angry. So am I. It was that anger that kept me strong when I was trying to organize rape victims into a fighting force against prisoner rapists. It was that anger that made me cut a man’s throat to show the rapists what they should be doing. It was that anger when the group International Committee to Free Russell Smith, that used that group to for People Organized to Stop Rape of Imprisoned Person (POSRIP), which is not Just Detention International. (I have resigned because I disagree with the direction they are going now.)
    We are all angry. It’s called PTSD and we all have it. But we do not want censor anybody, either. If they seem unaware or disbelieving or even what we would consider idiotic, that is not their fault. They experienced that.
    Join my yahoogroup. The address is:
    Post Message:
    stonewalljacksontrainingschool@yahoogroups.com
    Subscribe:
    stonewalljacksontrainingschool-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
    I would appreciate your joining. We hasve a lot of things in common.

  72. So let’s get right to the point. How do we get the place razed down to the ground? None of us want to see the place glorified with stores or monuments and so forth. So we need to start figuring something out. I was a prisoner rights activist in the Federal prisons for most of the 8 years I was there. But don’t think that an activist is a leader. An activist is a facilitator. Two or three people come up with ideas, and the activist puts all of those ideas together and present them all as one to the larger body. The body decides what they can do. Yes, I’m an activist, but I am a legal researcher, not a leader. I have never been a leader. Now I have offered my suggestion and it is up to you to decide whether you want to do that or do something else. One last note: The way we talk to each other we think of each other as brothers in our experiences. We should call each others brothers. Got me, my brothers?

  73. I am a recluse–mostly as a result of this lousy place. So I have an idea to shoot by my brothers of the death camp. (Oh, yes. Dozier School in Mariana, FL and Turner Farm in AR did not have the market on murder of its boys. More boys disappeared from Cottage 17’s jails than came back with the bloody wounds.)
    So let’s get right to the point. How do we get the place razed down to the ground? None of us want to see JTS glorified with stores or monuments and so forth after someone has made pithy little photographs to sell to the highest paying architect. Maybe as a park, a happy place with laughter and picnics and such. That’s so much more palatable to me.
    So we need to start figuring this thing out. I was a prisoner rights activist in the Federal prisons for most of the 8 years I was there. But don’t think that an activist is a leader. An activist is a facilitator. Two or three people come up with ideas, and the activist puts all of those ideas together, researches the feasibility, and presents them all as one to the larger body. The body decides what they want to do. He also gets everyone moving on the same ideas and solutions. Yes, I’m an activist, but I am a legal researcher, not a leader. I have never been a leader and I do not want to be. (Too many bullets!!!)
    Now I have offered my suggestion and it is up to you to decide whether you want to do that or do something else. One last suggestion: The way we talk to each other we think of each other as brothers in experiences. We should call each other that, our brothers. Got me, my brothers?
    Incidentally, some of our brothers seem inclined to cannibalize their own at the behest of outsiders. Can we stop being cannibals and see what we can do to stop those who want to turn the buildings into offices and such? Think about it, my brothers.

  74. I’d like to know if anyone there in the 50’s and early 60’s were sterilized my husband was there and he was he also told the stories of torture and abuse

  75. More horror at this place: “The Stonewall Jackson Training School was founded in 1907 and was North Carolina’s first juvenile detention facility. This was mostly a school for boys, but a few girls were sterilized there over its history, all of whom were labeled as “mentally retarded”. The boys who were sent there had only “minor scrapes” with authorities, not for mental illness. In 1948, seven boys out of 300 were targeted for sterilization because they were ready for discharge. These boys were deemed “feebleminded” as a justification for the operation. These were the only boys sterilized at this school” (Winston-Salem, DETOUR: In ’48 State Singled out Delinquent Boys). University of Vermont 10/21/2012. FB page: Stonewall Jackson Training School Boys Prison

  76. Im 52 yrs.old. remember when the old buildings were still going strong. Ive pssed by there many times, alot of time just to see how far it was going down. Jackson from all ive read was a very bad place ! But yes it should stand as a reminder to all of something that should never be again, ever! And if a landmark, the law should be that it has to be keep up, and not a eye sore, or one day , therell be no reminder, just a landmark sign, and thats not getting the word out ! Ive tryed for a long time now to find out just when the last of the old building (s) were closed for good ! If anyone knows of this year, please forward it to me , with anyother info. On the matter you care to share. Nothing you send me will be reposted without your ok. Im only interested in the history behind place. Thank you all so much. Ken nix, derita. tkn1@icloud.com

  77. Monica, you need to weed out the idiots who know nothing about what life was like before integration, when there were no blacks (except the darkest Indians of the Lumbee tribe). They know nothing about the brutal killings of these places all over this country where bodies were dug up in Tucker Farm, Arkansas; Dozier Boys School in Mariana, Florida; the juvenile prisons in Missouri–and which I am actively trying to get started at JTS. They do not know me like you and the others do, or they would not make inflammatory statements about me and others lieing “to get attention”. I ran into that when I came out of the Federal joints and made my name on what was then an unpopular subject, which one hears about now on TV and everywhere else. And these little know-nothings–and I am only not calling them worse out of respect to you. I am no liar and I do not want to be called one.

  78. Sorry, I got distracted. I was going to say that most of these comments were nice and well-thought out. However there are some bad ones that should be weeded out because of the things they say.

  79. This is to “I’d rather not say”: You said several things that I can not go without saying something about. You do not know what you are saying. First, you say that prison was skip rope or some such than JTS. You were not in the JTS that I was in. In 1963-1965, the brutality was so rampant that they resembled the circumstances at Dozier School in Marianna, FL and Missouri and Tucker Farm in Arkansas, all of which are digging up bodies. Integration came up in 1966. Before that there no black people except Lumbee Indians (a triracial tribe that was decreed by the state as all white).
    I take exception to your claim that JTS was easier than the prisons. From my arrival at Central Prison in 1966 until my release at the United States Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas in 1980, the only ropes I skip are those I skip around you. Even when the NC prison system had people cutting their ankle lesions, and their hands off, and anything they could to get out of prison early–I still know that JTS was worse than anything in all the prisons I would later endure. You see, “I’d Really Not Say” I understand why you won’t give your name. Because you simply don’t know what you are talking about. If you did you would not try to sound magnanimous in front of everybody else. The reason I can speak like this is because my name is open and everybody knows wher to find it on the Internet and on Wikipedia.

  80. Robert Graham, you too know nothing. You are talking 20 years difference, and you are probably not much older that that. Speak when you are spoken to, because you do not know what you are speaking about.

  81. Incidentally, pull up the Wikipedia page for “Barry Mehler”, who was the founder in the mid-70’s of the group called International Committee to Free Russell Smith, when I was at the United States Penitentiary at Marion, Illinois. You can also find me on the Wikipedia page “Just Detention International”, where I am noted as the founder of that organization. Finally, there is the Wikipedia page “Stonewall Jackson Training School” where at the bottom of the page under “Notable Inmates” my name is placed. I have nothing to brag about because those who are in the know do my bragging for me. Likewise, I will do nothing more in the way of attempting to correct people on this page. For one thing, this is not my page and I have a great deal of respect for the person whose page it is. Secondly, I am not so sure that most of you who call us liars, etc., can be dealt with in any measure of sensibility, since you will do so anyway; you’ll always be selfish in your own thinking and I will only find myself trying to knock some sense into you.
    P.S. In re-reading my past writing, I notice that I said “ankle lesion.” I probably got that confused with my wife’s ankle fusion. What I meant was cutting of the heel ligaments.

  82. Here is the story. Sundays we were allowed to put on our street clothes for church. When we got back to cottage 14 Mr.Long left the door to storage area opened to put civies away.The window was open so 4 of us decide to run and we got caught the next day after we broke into a gas station for smokes.County cops picked us up brought us back where we were taken to cotttage 17 and put in very small jail cells striped to our undies.I was not hit or abused but I could hear that the others were being slapped around.After a few days staff gave me a blanket and issued me new jeans.Day 6 staff took me back to cottage14.The other 3 were moved to more disaplined cottages.You see there was alot of racism there in 68 69.White staffers abused black inmates much more than white inmates.My 3 friends who I ran off with are black.Wasn’t able to talk to them again but was told they got whipped on pretty good by white staffers.

  83. I just found this site about Jackson Training School. I was there in 1944-46 I went through some of the things I have read about. Being slapped for no reason. I’m now 79 ys old and those days still bother me.

  84. My husband is seeking information for a book about this school. He is interested in historically factual information, good or bad about this place especially during the 1940-1970 period. He has a degree in history and is trained to write historical documents. Pseudonyms will be used to protect all from any possible legal issues. If you have information you would like to contribute or just want your story to be heard – please send your story to Mike at JTSstories@yahoo.com and let us know if you want it included in the book. Thank you!

  85. i am trying to find the reform school for girls in North Carolina in 1963-1964. Did stonewall Jackson have a facility for girl. There may have been a young lady there that delivered twins at a nearby hospital. One twin came back from the unknown hospital and we are trying to find the other twin who is about 50 years old now.

  86. “In 1907, when offered a pension by the Legislature of North Carolina, though she greatly needed it, she authorized one of her relatives, then a member of that body, to say that she preferred the money be given to help needy soldiers, or to found a school for wayward boys. At this session there was chartered the Stonewall Jackson Training School, one of the greatest institutions of its kind in America, and certainly the name it bears is an appropriate and inspiring one for the 500 boys enrolled there.”
    How easy it is to slander the name and character of a great man.

    http://www.wvculture.org/history/civilwar/jacksonstonewall01.html

  87. i have heard that some of the boys were raped, tortured, and even killed in this school. Is there anyone that can confirm these claims people have made?

  88. I was just doing a little research of old abandoned buildings in NC (since I reside in this state) and came across JTS. So I became even more interested and looked up the history and finally coming across this page. I’ve always heard of these horror stories about Juvenile correctional Schools but didn’t think all the stories were true, but now my eyes are definitely opened!
    I am so sorry to all you men that had to withstand that torture and abuse as little boys. I wish those teachers and all that were in charge perish in Hell for beating and raping those (you as) innocent boys. My heart also goes out to the boys that died there. RIH
    Its a shame that your stories haven’t went public or broadcast on the news (at least that I don’t know of) but of course the State wouldn’t want their horrible secrets out.
    My question is:
    What reason did parents send their kids to JTS?
    Did you ever tell your parents?
    What happened after that?
    Did you ever thought of seeking revenge on those teachers? Or even the boys that sexually assaulted you or your friends? (I know it would cross my mind)
    Who is the founder of JTS? Did he know of this?
    Really wish I could go back in time and stop such tragedies. Again, I am sorry.

    -Crystal

  89. I was there from January 84 to august 84 there was only a few cottages they used by then 10,4,there was a girl cottage and there was cottage 9 where I was there was also a new building with 3 wings A wing for orientation, C wing for your last couple of weeks before being released and B wing which was supposed to be for confinement when you committed infractions but for some reason they didn’t use it instead they used cottage 17 which had below ground level cells where you would spend days even weeks in just your underwear. The staff was violent and did make us fight each other if they saw an argument arise I found myself in two of these fights one I sustained a cut under my eye the nurse and I use that word loosely gave me penicillin which I am allergic to and nearly died as a result. A woman who worked in the kitchen died there when a dumbwaiter fell and crushed her. It was a horrible place to say the least but it did teach me the value of freedom as I have never spend one single night locked up since then

  90. i was in jts in 53&54. like to hear from clarence quinn. we were in cottage 14. mr. hooker. clarence was finally shipped out to prison from jts. mountain boy from black mountain. he could not stand to be locked up. he was like a wolf.

  91. lynn I am doing research on stonewall Jackson training school I want to be able to go in to get pics of the place how did you get permission? who did you talk to? I’m doing a paper on this school the building history, what people went through there please is you can give me the contact info I would appreciate it so much thank you and I am so sorry for the people that had to endure that no child or teen deserves that.

  92. There’s been people saying they wounted to write a book about jts ! So the public would get the full story, yes, its a dark past that needs to be told.so far, i have not been able to locate anybook released. If anyone knows of a book release, please feel free to email me at zomiehunter1@gmail.com thank all of you so much !

  93. Hey everyone one of my friends and I want to explore the grounds is that possible to do?? I just want to ask this.

  94. Yes, I know about the boy being hit by the dump truck. Several of us were in the back and the driver, Richard Poteet, was driving pretty fast toward the chicken houses where we worked. He did not stop for pedestrian traffic coming across the street. He had thought all of the boys had gone by and didn’t even look. The boy came out from the buildings and was hit. Poteet didn’t know he had hit anyone until we banged on the cab roof and shouted for him to stop. He backed up and picked the boy up and put him in the cab. I took my shirt off and held it on his head which was bleeding badly, and when we got to the infirmary, I was told I could not stay there. had to walk back to the cottage. I got a beating for having my shirt off and all the blood on it because it was a state shirt! There are so many things remember about JTS and those who were there. I have kept a lot of t to myself because it hurt so much. Sometimes, it is not the tears that fall from the eyes that hurt so much, but the tears that flow from the heart onto the soul. I cried because my cousin was killed that day, but no one cared. Poteet got away with that because he was a state employee.

  95. I think this needs to be a movie. Especially with all the highlight about the facility in Mariana Florida. That boys home had a few mass graves.

  96. Im a bit late here. But i know nothing of SJTS before i spent time 1999-2000 there housed in Mac North. I read a piece by two people above that made me kind of laugh. For the record I am white. And like any prison no matter your race there will come times when you have to fight. I did so there a number of times. Lost some and won some. People will try to see if your weak to start. Dont fail that test even if you loose, fight back. But after the first check in which i lost horribly. They didnt pick with or mess with me. Id fight and they knew it. My fights came from my attitude. I was a hard head. Its true the blacks had more strength and numbers. But that didnt make the whites there do boys. If you were weak you had a hard time coming your way. Yes some unit workers allowed fights in house. Not death matches. Just enough to let two people get their emotions out with no fear of punishment. I had 5.0 not unit workers but 5.0 officers that gave me heads up with my dealing in contraband. Was that right no. But its any where you go someone will always turn a blind eye. I worked medical and would bring things back to housing from other peoples visits. The way of the world. We played sports and were giving rewards for winning games. It wasnt all fun but it wasnt all bad. Before my stay in SJTS i did time 98-99 in Eastman YDC in Georgia. That place was hell. Jackson in comparison was like heaven. Of all the bad i hear from years past. It is horrible. I hate anyone had to endure such chaos. But for the 90’s and on it really cant be called a place of nightmares.

  97. I was at SWJTS In 74 and 76. Hatred headed girl thinking I was missing something in the world and running behind a guy. I went twice which was coed at the time. Gods and sad times but nothing ever bad. Grew up a lot there. Got my GED and my first job. The girls cottages were at the top of the hill the first time. We decided we were gonna sneak out but the keys were downstairs in the basement. Boy was that a mess! My friend asked me not to go, Lydia Prell. She was an awesome friend and wish I could find her! Anyhow the state was called in because the male counselors got involved with the girls that slipped out. Good memories and good friends!

  98. Is it that bad now? My son is 16 and he’s there now and will be for the next year. What is he really going through? Please respond. Someone that’s been there recently. This is April 24 2017 Celeste

  99. It is not nearly as big or as bad now as it was in history. I hear that there are only 30 kids there now. When I was there in 1963-65, there were nearly 400 kids–all boys–and it was a blot on the earth’s bottom. Sexual violence and perversion among both staff and prisoners was rampant. This is pretty well defined on the Facebook group page “Stonewall Jackson Training School Boys Prison”. The only good thing that ever came out of SJTS was the organization Just Detention International (JDI) and the Prisoner Rape Elimination Act, and that was indirect. SJTS was so bad that when I formed JDI (originally as People Organized to Stop Rape of Imprisoned Persons [POSRIP]) in 1980, I had been inside about 70 different penal and juvenile institutions and NONE were ever as bad and terrifying as SJTS. That is how horrible the place was. You can also research personal hand-written historical materials at the Labadie Collection of the Hatcher Library at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

  100. hello everyone my name is DAVID MURPHY I was at stonewall jackson school in 1972 cottage 13 and 15 where the cell blocks were mr cauldwell was in charge cottage 15 when i was in cottage 13 mr farrow the sorry ass counsler beat me and another boy real bad i can tell you some stories it was terrible tryed to find farrow to beat his ass but can not find him i also have some paperwork i would love to share

  101. does anyone know of a Dewey or Bobby Earley? i believe they were there mid 50s to 60

  102. Does anyone remember my father Ronnie Fink? He was in cottage 11 and probably known as a fighter. He had a younger brother that also was there Curtis fink. I’ve heard horrible stories?

  103. I was at SJTS from May 1991- November 1991. First of all my heart goes out to anyone that suffered or indured any mistreatment or abuse by other kids or staff while at SJTS, especially the adults, because there is no excuse for the Cottage Parents to behave that way‼️ The stories I have read on this link and others about abuse make me sick and I’m thankful that I didn’t have to go thru that shit‼️

  104. I was sent to a wilderness camp in NC before I went to SJTS. The wilderness camp was I think kinda new and we lived in big tents with wooden floors (about 10 boys per tent, and maybe 4 or 5 groups) we went to school there, the food was good too. The concept was to rehabilitate troubled teens, and I realized within a few weeks that I would have to stay at this place for maybe as long as a year or more before they felt that I was ready to go home. Well that wasn’t going to work. I’m a 14 year old punk kid, crying out for attention, but the wrong kind. I knew from talking to other people that if I were to go to boys school that I could get out in 3 1/2 – 4 months. So after spending about a month at this wilderness camp, i had to go to court, and when the Judge asked me if I wanted to stay there or go to boys school, well I chose boys school because I could get out so much faster. I realize some people got 2 year definite sentences and all that but a lot of sentences given out for juveniles in my day from the state of NC were Indefinite sentences until the age of 18, meaning yea I could have stayed in SJTS until I was 18 years old and some people did

  105. So in May of 1991 I arrived at SJTS. I was from Fayetteville and met 2 boys from Thomasville that came into orientation the same day. We decided that we were going to run before we even moved up on the hill (big mistake) and of course we got caught. That set me back a week or two, but finally moved up on the hill to Cottage 10. My cottage parents were alright, especially Mr.Rob, who was kinda young, maybe 30, and Mr. Thompson, wo was older, a VET, and a hard ass, but in a good way, reminded me of my own dad except he was black lol. There might have been 25-30 of us in Cottage 10. Most of the boys in there were ok, yea of course there was some dumb ass idiots in there, but I guess in a sense we all were, that’s why we were in there. I was 14 when I got there, and turned 15 in there. There was 5 of us from Fayetteville. Everybody was cool from my town, especially George Gibbs. We went to the same school (Douglas Byrd) same grade, some of the same classes too. He was never there though because he was always at SJTS LOL. He was a scrapper too, punch you in the mouth real quick. I worked in the Adminstrative building while I was there. The deal was, with an Indefinite sentence, you could get out by earning 2100 points, which if you didn’t fight a lot, get caught smoking, or do anything else stupid, you could get out in 3 1/2- 4 months. I learned to fight there, won some lost some. I layed low and flew under the radar, because I knew that’s what it took to get the hell out of there. Some boys in there didn’t care how long they were there. There was people there before I got there and the same people there after I left because they couldn’t get there points to get out. I’ve read all the stories about SJTS and can’t imagine having gone through the stuff that some of these boys and girls went through. I can honestly say that I never saw any abuse by staff or boys, other than bullying, and fighting which yes it’s abuse but no staff abusing anyone. I only saw what I saw in Cottage 10, so who knows what goes on elsewhere. Never heard of anything either but like I said, I layed low and didn’t get caught up in any dumb shit. Besides Cottage 10, Cottage 9 was in the same building as orientation and lock down. Then there was Cottage 4 and 5, think that was it but it’s such an old memory that I can’t say for sure. I hadn’t thought about SJTS in many years, but a couple months ago, out of the blue, I decided to google SJTS and that’s how I discovered this link and all kinds of other stuff about SJTS. I’ve looked at enough pics from links, and google earth and maps to take me back there but I will plan on making the almost 600 mile trip to go to SJTS and see the old cottages. I like old brick architecture and think the brickwork is really good (Colonial Revival) and the Architech Louis Asbury was one Hell of an Architech. “No matter what our experiences were, we will always have 1 thing in common, we spent time at The Stonewall Jackson Training School for Boys”

  106. Go to You tube and search Stonewall Jackson Boys School and check out Darcy McManus video (its pics of all the cottages outside the fence with music in background), also you tube drone video that has cool overhead pics

  107. I have been photo-documenting the older buildings on the campus for some time now, gathering several thousand images from multiple buildings including the church – and I am fascinated enough by the stories told, both good and bad, that I’d really like to start logging the history not just of the buildings, but of the students/inmates who were housed in them.

    Several of my photos are now used for the Google site for the school, but I’d like to do something more official – an actual independently published book.

    I understand the desire to speak out about abuse and mistreatment, but I also want to hear the success stories (the people who came out better than they went in). I’d like to help piece together the TRUE history of the place, not just the horror stories or the cover-ups.

    IF you sent time at Stonewall Jackson, and IF you are willing to be honest, straightforward, and possibly (but not necessarily) to be identified by name in the publication, I’d like to hear from you.

    Anyone who has pictures that they have taken of the cottages before they began to decay would also be EXTREMELY welcome.

    This also applies to any cottage parents or other persons of authority who feel the desire to tell their side of the experience.

    Please email me at stonewalljacksonts@mail.com, an email set up specifically to find out if there’s enough interest in the project to bring it to life.

  108. Hi there; I relocated to NC a little over a year ago. I happened across this school, after reading an article on Jack Greene, who’s slated for execution in Arkansas and once attended the SJS. As a social worker who previously worked in NY state juvenile residential facilities, I was naturally interested in reading about SJS. At the time, I hadn’t even known it was in my, now, home state. Amy, I agree, I’d like to also hear of some success stories. Any residential program, from a school to a jail/prison..even a holding facility…can have an array of levels to the experience. Not to mention, the degree of trauma, in some cases, as we’re learning about SJS. Those instances also affect the future’s of those individual’s, as well. So yes, I’ love to hear more about resident experiences, of all walks.

  109. Hello everyone,
    I am a student at UNC Chapel Hill and am writing and reporting on juvenile justice, particularly focusing on training and correctional schools. I have heard about the horrors of training schools, especially Stonewall Jackson Manual Training School, and would really like to get in touch with someone who was a former student there. I want to report on what this facility was actually like. Please, any information will be helpful.
    Thank you.
    I can be contacted at kgottwald44@gmail.com

  110. I was at Jackson in 1966 until 1968. I ran 4 times. I always got caught. I was in cottage 17 cottage parents were mr. and mrs Paul Mann. Mr Mann wife ugly. I got whippings most for sneaking to smoke. I worked in Plumbing dept Mr burke. the buildings were called cottages. 1- 17. they believed in pushiment. Had a stick made of hard plastic and that thing hurt. They also had cells if you did really bad you went there espically ran. I did go to school half a day and worked half a day. I know one good thing came p
    out of this i got may ged.

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