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Occoquan Workhouse (State Historical Marker)

GPS Coordinates: 38.6973107, -77.2560692
Closest Address: 9517 Workhouse Way, Lorton, VA 22079

Occoquan Workhouse (State Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:

Occoquan Workhouse
In the nearby Occoquan Workhouse, from June to December, 1917, scores of women suffragists were imprisoned by the District of Columbia for picketing the White House demanding their right to vote. Their courage and dedication during harsh treatment aroused the nation to hasten the passage and ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920. The struggle for woman’s suffrage had taken 72 years.

Erected 1982 by the League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area; Virginia Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number E-61.)


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More about this marker:
The marker was originally erected on Rt 123 at the entrance to the Occoquan Regional Park. The Lorton Prison complex was immediately north of the marker on both sides of the road. It was removed when work began on realigning and widening of Rt 123 and eventually re-erected at the Water Works north of where the prison stood. The marker was once again relocated 0.2 miles south of its previous location at the intersection of Ox Rd & Workhouse Rd (38.69967N, 77.25659W). It is said that when originally erected in 1982, this was the first marker in the state to recognize civil rights and women’s rights.

Occoquan Workhouse Marker (relocated)
The Occoquan Workhouse Marker is now on Ox Road, Virginia Route 123 northbound, in Lorton Virginia. It is next to the entrance for the Workhouse Arts Center that occupies the grounds and buildings of what was once the Occoquan Workhouse, later Occoquan Reformatory. An educational marker on the grounds states that the building where the suffragettes were imprisoned and tortured no longer stands.

The marker was originally erected in 1982 on Route 123 at the entrance to the Occoquan Regional Park. The Lorton Prison complex was immediately north of the marker on both sides of the road. It was removed when work began on realigning and widening of Route 123 and eventually re-erected at the Water Works north of where the prison stood.

Plaque on the building in the complex:
This property has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior


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Turning Point Suffragist Memorial:
The Occoquan Workhouse marker states that suffragists were imprisoned at this location in 1917, because of their efforts for the right to vote. In May 2021 the Turning Point Suffragist Memorial was dedicated to honor these women. The memorial is about three miles away from the marker, at the end of the road going into Occoquan Regional Park. The park entrance intersects with Ox Road 123 North, south of the marker. The memorial recounts the history of the suffragist movement of the early 20th century.

The Turning Point Suffragist Memorial commemorates all of the millions of little-known women who engaged in the suffragist movement primarily from 1848 through passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920 that allowed most women to vote. This memorial is both a visual symbol and educational tool that elevates them to their proper place in history. Their stories begged to be told and you will find them here. The suffragists’ decades-long persistence resulted in the greatest expansion of democracy the world had ever witnessed when twenty-five million women won the right to vote with the stroke of a pen on August 26, 1920, now known as Women’s Equality Day.

The Memorial is free, self-guided and open year-round during the park’s normal hours of operation that change seasonally. Large groups (10 or more people) can schedule docent-led tours for a modest fee. There is a suggested donation to support maintenance for such tours. The Brickmaker’s Café on the premises is available for meals or snacks during its normal business hours.

The memorial includes the names of all of the suffragists who were jailed in 1917 on a Suffragist Commemorative Wall. All were kept in harsh conditions where many were beaten and brutalized. More than five million American women, from coast to coast, participated in the suffrage movement for more than seven decades. Their stories are reported on 19 Information Stations complete with dozens of pictures and graphics.

The memorial also includes three statues of prominent suffrage leaders, a Rotunda featuring the six pillars of democracy, and an Arroyo Bridge perfect for Girl Scout bridging ceremonies. Another major feature is the 24’ section of the actual, hand –forged, White House Fence (circa. late 1800’s) in front of which suffragists picketed in 1917 that was provided to the memorial by the National Park Service. A Donor Wall lists the memorial’s major donors. There is a beautifully designed Memorial Garden providing visitors with the opportunity to sit and contemplate the history they have experienced surrounded by native flowers and trees bursting in suffrage colors - purple, gold and white.


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Regarding Occoquan Workhouse:
The Occoquan Workhouse, and later the Lorton Reformatory, was a District of Columbia operated prison built 19 miles from Washington in Virginia to house prisoners from Washington, DC. Opened in 1910, it was connected to Washington first by its own railroad (the Lorton and Occoquan Railroad, 1911–1977, between the prison and a junction with the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, now CSX Transportation), and then by U.S. Route 1 and finally by Interstate 95. The telephone exchange in the Lorton area was and still provides toll-free “local” service to and from Washington. Washington city buses ran frequent daily express service from the city (non-stop via I-95) during visiting hours until the prison closed in 2002.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Clio Foundation website as written by Kimberlee Smith:

Introduction
The Lorton Reformatory, previously known as the Occoquan Workhouse, was established in 1910 as part of the Progressive Movement's effort to reform the penal system. The prison is best known for its deplorable treatment of women who were sent to Occoquan in 1917 following their arrest for participating in protests for women's suffrage at the nation's capital. Lucy Burns, Alice Paul and other prisoners launched a hunger strike in order to protest their arrest and publicize incidents of violence and sexual abuse. Prison guards force-fed the protesting prisoners. On the night of November 14th, 1917, the guards severely beat some of the women. News of the abuse galvanized support for women's suffrage and led to investigations into the treatment of prisoners at the workhouse and other prisons.

Backstory and Context
The origin of the prison can be traced back to 1908, when President Theodore Roosevelt appointed a panel to investigate conditions in Washington's jails and prison. The panel issued several recommendations, including the transfer of inmates who had committed non-violent crimes away from the high-security prison. Congress responded by providing funding for a medium-security reformatory and workhouse that would be built to resemble a college campus and emphasize rehabilitation through labor.

The DC department of corrections selected inmates and transferred them from the high-security complex to the present site in 1910. Occoquan was built in several phases, with labor being provided by these first prisoners. In 1916, the brick structure was complete. Over time, the Department of Corrections transformed Occoquan from a minimum security facility into Lorton Prison, complete with high walls and guard towers.

During the Cold War, the federal government built an underground bunker that held weapons and equipment in reserve. Less attention was given to the actual state of the prison, which became outdated and overcrowded. Prisoners were transferred to other facilities during the 1990s, and the prison closed in 2002. Control of the land and buildings transferred to Fairfax County, where community leaders worked to transform the former prison into a cultural arts center. In 2008, the Workhouse Arts Center opened offering several galleries and studios, as well as a youth arts center and theater.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Clio Foundation website as written by Lindsey Kraus, Daniel Newcomer, and Genna Duplisea:

Introduction
Built by the bricks made by its inmates, the District of Columbia’s Workhouse opened in the summer of 1910. The site was initially created as an experiment to determine if hard labor and an open-air environment would help reform short-term prisoners charged with drunkenness, disorderly conduct, and other crimes. A notable contribution to the importance of this place was its involvement in the women’s suffrage movement and the women known as the Silent Sentinels who were treated deplorably during their stay at the prison. The Workhouse has served several purposes and has changed hands several times throughout its history. The site has been used as a workhouse, a maximum-security prison, and is currently used to house the Workhouse Arts Center and Museum to name a few. Today, the Prison Museum provides visitors with an overview of the history of the prison with a greater focus on the suffragists and the torture, hunger strikes, and force-feeding that they had to endure.

Backstory and Context
The District of Columbia’s Workhouse opened in Lorton, Virginia in the summer of 1910 and was initially created as an experiment to determine if hard labor and an open-air environment would be beneficial to help reform “short-term prisoners who were habitual drunkards, vagrants, and family abusers.” The U.S. government purchased 3,200 acres of land for the Workhouse at the cost of $28,650 on April 1st, 1910 with the intent of establishing an industrial farm and worksite for prisoners. Initially, there were no built structures for the prisoners and they had to use tents and temporary structures. Eventually, a brickyard was built and the fields were converted and used for cultivation. The inmates used the bricks they made in the brickyard onsite to build the brick dormitory buildings that remain standing today. In 1912, there was also a Women’s Workhouse that was opened nearby that housed women sentenced for smaller charges like soliciting, prostitution, and disorderly conduct. The National Register of Historic Places approved this site for statewide status on February 2, 2012, which was amended from a previous request in 2005.

A notable contribution to the history of this site was its involvement in the women’s suffrage movement. In 1917, women began demonstrating in front of the White House for the right to vote and decided they would rather be imprisoned than be quiet. Some of the women that were arrested were sentenced to the Women’s Workhouse at Lorton. What is most notable about their imprisonment was that the women were held under “deplorable conditions.” These women, also known as the Silent Sentinels, “endured unspeakable torture and abuse at the hands of more than 40 prison officials and guards.” These women were served rancid food, were chained and beaten, “some by having their heads smashed into iron bed frames, and one woman, a 74-year old suffragette, was stabbed with part of her broken picketing banner.” The suffragists claimed status as political prisoners but were denied access to counsel and when one group of suffragists began a hunger strike to protest the prison‘s lack of recognition of their political prisoner status, they were forcibly fed through feeding tubes. These events and the history surrounding these women are featured in current the museum at the Workhouse Arts Center.

In 1936, the Workhouse was converted into a maximum-security facility and was later overseen by the District of Columbia’s Department of Corrections that was created to supervise the Lorton Complex in 1946. During this time, the complex saw multiple changes to support the new security requirements and help support the maximum-security facility. Between 1950 and 1952 a reformatory fence and lights were installed and there was also an increase in violence from prisoners. These facilities were in poor condition and overcrowded. In 1958, the first officer was killed on site in the line of duty and the first major riot at the prison occurred in 1963. With these changes and challenges to the facility, the men and women’s workhouses closed in 1966 along with the farming and agriculture branches that followed in 1995. Also in 1995, the Federal Trustees took over responsibility for the complex and turned it into a super-maximum security prison. The federal government took over because the D.C. government was unable to “resolve the facility’s problems.” Around the late 1990s, the prison was thought of as “an oppressive, poorly managed prison where escapes and riots often have made news and guards sometimes have been charged with crimes themselves.” Interestingly, Congress turned over the prison complex to Fairfax County, where Lorton is located, and the Fairfax Water Authority took control of the site in 1998.

Because of the mismanaged and overcrowded conditions, the prison was closed with the last prisoner leaving in December 2001. In 2002, 2,324 acres were sold to Fairfax County for 4.2 million dollars. The Lorton Arts foundation was approved to open the Workhouse Art Center in 2004. The Workhouse Arts Center officially opened in 2008, with a museum following later that year. There are numerous artists that have shops throughout the current complex, and there are many options, from food to theater classes that are offered at the arts center. There are several opportunities for visitors interact with artists and to participate in the many performing arts opportunities and classes available.

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Nathaniel Lee

c/o Franconia Museum

6121 Franconia Road

Alexandria, VA 22310

franconiahistory@gmail.com

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