Guard Tower at Lorton Prison (8904432591)

The Lorton Reformatory, also known as the Lorton Correctional Complex, is a former prison complex in

Lorton, Virginia Lorton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 18,610 as of the 2010 census. History Lorton is named for a village in the Lake District National Park, Cumbria, in England. Joseph Plasket ...

, established in 1910 for the

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, United States. The complex began as a prison farm called the Occoquan Workhouse for non-violent offenders serving short sentences. The District established an adjacent reformatory in 1914, and then a walled penitentiary constructed by inmates from 1931 through 1938, as a division of the reformatory with heightened security. The complex came under the administration of the

District of Columbia Department of Corrections The District of Columbia Department of Corrections (DCDC) is a correctional agency responsible for the adult jails and other adult correctional institutions for the District of Columbia, in the United States.http://doc.dc.gov/doc/cwp/view,a,3,q,491 ...

when it was formed in 1946. After further expansions, a peak size of , and 92 years of service, the facility was ordered closed in the late 1990s. The final prisoners were transferred out in November 2001. Lorton was also the site of a bunker used by the government from 1959 to 2001 that housed emergency communications equipment to be used in the event of a war with the Soviet Union. Lorton Reformatory also hosted

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

missile site W-64.

History

Near the reformatory lies Revolutionary War patriot William Lindsay's circa 1790 estate known as Laurel Hill. This house served as a residence for the reformatory superintendent. In 1908, President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

appointed a special Penal Commission to investigate deplorable conditions of the District of Columbia's jail and workhouse in Washington. As a result, the Commission recommended a complete change in the philosophy and treatment of prisoners in D.C. The

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

acted upon this recommendation, and a tract north of the

Occoquan River The Occoquan River is a tributary of the Potomac River in Northern Virginia, where it serves as part of the boundary between Fairfax and Prince William counties. The river is a scenic area, and several local high schools and colleges use the r ...

was purchased in 1910 through condemnation proceedings. District architect

Snowden Ashford Snowden Ashford (1866–1927) was an American architect who worked in Washington, D.C., his native city. Born on January 1, 1866, Ashford was educated at Rittenhouse Academy and at the Christian Brothers Roman Catholic school. He studied archit ...

drew plans for the workhouse in 1910, while Leon E. Dessez was the special architect appointed by the commissioners to draft plans for the new workhouse. It opened in 1916 as a facility for less serious offenders in the Lorton Correctional Complex, with classically inspired, symmetrical dormitory complexes. From 1911 the complex had its own railroad, the Lorton and Occoquan Railroad that operated until 1977. From June to November 1917, a number of nationally prominent suffragists were arrested from their "

Silent Sentinels The Silent Sentinels, also known as the Sentinels of Liberty, were a group of over 2,000 women in favor of women's suffrage organized by Alice Paul and the National Woman's Party, who protested in front of the White House during Woodrow Wilson's ...

" pickets of the White House at the White House, and held at the Occoquan Workhouse. Approximately 168 women, most from the

National Women's Party The National Woman's Party (NWP) was an American women's political organization formed in 1916 to fight for women's suffrage. After achieving this goal with the 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the NW ...

, experienced mistreatment at the workhouse. Some were force-fed after they began hunger strikes. The night of November 14, 1917, is known as the "

Night of Terror ''Night of Terror'' is a 1933 American pre-Code horror film directed by Benjamin Stoloff, and starring Bela Lugosi, Sally Blane, Wallace Ford, and Tully Marshall. Despite receiving top billing, Bela Lugosi has a relatively small part. The film ...

" because of how badly the suffragist prisoners were tortured, beaten, and abused. Portrayals of events at the Occoquan Workhouse played a key part in the 2004 film ''

Iron Jawed Angels ''Iron Jawed Angels'' is a 2004 American historical drama film directed by Katja von Garnier. The film stars Hilary Swank as suffragist leader Alice Paul, Frances O'Connor as activist Lucy Burns, Julia Ormond as Inez Milholland, and Anjelica Hu ...

'', a film about the history of the

National Woman's Party The National Woman's Party (NWP) was an American women's political organization formed in 1916 to fight for women's suffrage. After achieving this goal with the 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the NW ...

Alice Paul Alice Stokes Paul (January 11, 1885 – July 9, 1977) was an American Quaker, suffragist, feminist, and women's rights activist, and one of the main leaders and strategists of the campaign for the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ...

Lucy Burns Lucy Burns (July 28, 1879 – December 22, 1966) was an American suffragist and women's rights advocate.Bland, 1981 (p. 8) She was a passionate activist in the United States and the United Kingdom, who joined the militant suffragettes. Burns w ...

, and other members of the 1910s Women's Voting Rights Movement. The penitentiary buildings of the 1930s were constructed by the prisoners themselves, using brick manufactured at the on-site kiln complex from Occoquan River clay. Initially only the maximum security section was fenced, but fences were established for other sections in the 1970s due to area politicians calling for the closing of the prison and increased concerns over prison escapes.Shin, Annys.
Ten Things to Do Before Closing a Prison

Archive
. ''

Washington City Paper The ''Washington City Paper'' is a U.S. alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The ''City Paper'' is distributed on Thursdays; its average circulation in 2006 was 85,588. The paper's editorial mix is focused ...

''. March 9, 2001. Retrieved on February 5, 2016. The Youth Center, housing 18-22 year old prisoners, opened in 1960 and was established due to the post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

era anti-juvenile delinquency law Federal Youth Corrections Act of 1950. It was located next to the Fairfax County Landfill and in proximity to the prison's dairy farm. The initial concept was that the young prisoners could acquire a trade and/or get an education and then have their records expunged. Initially the prisoners carried books entitled "So We All Understand" and wore suits and ties. The building was designed to resemble a campus of a university, and it used open plan dormitories. At some point older adult felons began to be housed alongside the younger prisoners. Eddie Dean of the ''

'' stated that the center became "a sort of parody of its original inception".Dean, Eddie.
Maximum Insecurity

Archive
. ''

''. June 6, 1997. Retrieved on February 5, 2016. According to Dean, at one time it was the "murder capital" of Lorton, but by 1997 the Youth Center became "a relatively calm and safe compound, especially compared with the Quack." It became known in its later years, however, as an outdated and badly overcrowded facility. The last prisoners were removed from Lorton Reformatory late in 2001. As a result of the

National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 The National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997, also known as the Revitalization Act, was enacted on August 5, 1997, with provisions to reform the criminal justice system in Washington, D.C. The act was spearheaded ...

, felons from the District of Columbia began going to

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

facilities. On July 15, 2002, the property was sold to Fairfax County. The transfer was enabled by the Lorton Technical Corrections Act passed by Congress in October 1998. It required the county to develop a plan to maximize use of land for open space, parkland or recreation prior to the transfer. The site has been part of the D.C. Workhouse and Reformatory Historic District since February 16, 2006.

Cultural Arts Center

In 2002, The Lorton Arts Foundation sought to reuse the property of the former prison. The idea was to reconstruct and repair the prison facility and transform it into a Cultural Arts Center, to be known as the Workhouse Arts Center. Of course, much had to be altered to serve in such a capacity. In 2004, approval from The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors allowed the project to get under way. Soon after the decision was made to repurpose the land and old historic buildings, restoration began. Walls were repaired, rooms were completely cleared, and the tall fences around the property were taken down. In 2008, the Arts Center was ready to be used by the public after four years to build and restore six separate buildings, transforming them into headquarters for hobbies and activities of all types. Ceramics, photography, painting, theatre, film and much more is now offered and accessible by the public within the center. Classes are offered in most or all of the categories offered. The Arts Center also houses famous pieces of art by local and renown artists. Well-known artists have visited the center to teach and to present their work. With over 800 different art classes offered, this has become a popular destination for the aspiring artist. Along with the Workhouse Arts Center, the former prison yard has now become home to baseball and soccer fields. With much ground still available, plans are in place to add more athletic fields. Many attend a yearly walk through the old grounds, and stages have been set up to host local theater organizations. Walk-throughs and tours were offered before the restoration began in 2004 to view rooms such as the cafeteria, Warden's office, shower room, and cell dorms. Guard towers still surround the grounds.

Lucy Burns Museum

A museum in honor of suffragist

from the

opened in 2020. The Museum hosts celebrations for Women's Equality Day each year in August.

Notable prisoners

Chuck Brown Charles Louis Brown (August 22, 1936 – May 16, 2012) was an American guitarist, bandleader and singer known as " The Godfather of Go-Go". Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed around the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area in the mid-197 ...

, musician, 1950s *

, suffragist and women's rights advocate, 1917 *

Iris Calderhead Iris Calderhead (January 3, 1889 – March 6, 1966) was an American suffragist and organizer in the National Woman's Party. She earned an A.B. in English from the University of Kansas in 1910 and completed a graduate degree at Bryn Mawr College ...

, suffragist and women's rights advocate, 1917 *

Petey Greene Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene, Jr. (January 23, 1931 – January 10, 1984), was an American television and radio talk-show host. A two-time Emmy Award-winner, Greene overcame drug addiction and a prison sentence for armed robbery to become one of the ...

, television and radio talk-show host, 1960s * Alison Turnbull Hopkins, suffragist and women's rights activist, 1917 * Laura Houghtaling Ingalls, aviator and Nazi agent, 1943 * Paula O. Jakobi, suffragist and women's rights activist, 1917 *

Dora Lewis Dora Lewis (October 13, 1862 – January 31, 1928), also known as Mrs. Lawrence Lewis, was an American suffragist. She was active in the National American Woman Suffrage Association and later helped found the National Woman's Party. Lewis took part ...

, suffragist and women's rights activist, 1917 * George Gordon Liddy, FBI agent, lawyer, talk show host, actor, and burglar, 1973–1977 *

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, activist, filmmaker and actor. In a career spanning over six decades, Mailer ...

, novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, film-maker, actor, and liberal political activist; included in his book ''

Armies of the Night ''The Armies of the Night: History as a Novel/The Novel as History'' is a nonfiction novel recounting the October 1967 March on the Pentagon written by Norman Mailer and published by New American Library in 1968. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Gen ...

''; briefly, in 1967? * Anne Henrietta Martin, suffragist and women's rights activist, 1917 *

, suffragist and women's rights activist, 1917 *

Elizabeth Selden Rogers Elizabeth Selden White Rogers (July 23, 1868 – December 18, 1950) was a civic reformer working to improve the New York public schools, and to win suffrage for women in the state of New York and the nation. Early life and education She wa ...

, suffragist and education advocate, 1917 *

Doris Stevens Doris Stevens (born Dora Caroline Stevens, October 26, 1888 – March 22, 1963) was an American suffragist, woman's legal rights advocate and author. She was the first female member of the American Institute of International Law and first chai ...

, suffragist, author, and women's rights activist, 1917 *

Betty Gram Swing Betty Gram Swing, born Myrtle Eveline Gram (March 16, 1893 – September 1, 1969), was an American militant suffragist. Personal life Betty Gram participated in landmark events of the women's rights movement in the early to mid-twentieth century. ...

, suffragist and women's rights activist, 1917 * Amelia Himes Walker, suffragist and women's rights activist, 1917 *

Ruza Wenclawska Ruza Wenclawska (December 15, 1889 – 1977), more widely known as Rose Winslow and later as Rose Lyons by marriage, was a Polish-American suffragist, factory inspector and trade union organizer. She was a dedicated member of the National Woman' ...

, suffragist, factory inspector, trade union organizer, actress, and poet, 1914

History

Cultural Arts Center

Lucy Burns Museum

Notable prisoners

See also

References

Further reading