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South County High School

GPS Coordinates: 38.7175789, -77.2383330
Closest Address: 8501 Silverbrook Road, Lorton, VA 22079

South County High School

Here follows a history of the school as published on the Fairfax County Public Schools website:

What's in a Name?
Learn about the origin of our school's name in this video produced for Fairfax County Public Schools’ cable television channel Red Apple 21:

South County High School opened in September 2005. The school, named for its geographic location in Fairfax County, was built on land that was once part of the Lorton Correctional Facility. In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed a commission to investigate the conditions of the jail and workhouse in Washington, D.C. The commission recommended the establishment of a new workhouse and reformatory away from the city, where prisoners could be rehabilitated and reformed through fresh air, good food, and honest work. Between 1910 and 1914, the Federal Government acquired more than 2,500 acres of land in southern Fairfax County, and established the Occoquan Workhouse and Reformatory. The workhouse and reformatory were separate facilities, located apart from one another on the grounds due to their differing levels of security. Inmates sent to the minimum-security workhouse were assigned various tasks, such as farming and brickmaking. The bricks were fired in “beehive kilns” – only one of which still stands today – and were used to construct buildings on the reformatory, schools in the District of Columbia, and, in 1924, an addition to the Lorton School in Fairfax County. In 1936, a walled penitentiary was constructed to house offenders convicted of violent crimes. The sprawling workhouse, reformatory, and penitentiary complex later became known as the Lorton Correctional Facility. Because the facility was owned by the Federal Government, it was used to house persons who were arrested while engaged in political protests in Washington, D.C. In 1917, Lucy Burns, and fellow members of the National Woman’s Party, became the first political prisoners incarcerated at Occoquan. The National Woman’s Party was an organization that advocated for women’s suffrage. Members of the organization used various tactics, such as marches, demonstrations, and acts of civil disobedience, to pressure politicians into passing legislation that would give women the right to vote. While imprisoned, Lucy Burns and the other women endured beatings, repeated mental abuse, unsanitary living conditions, and forced feedings. When news of their brutal treatment leaked out, it swayed public opinion in favor of women’s suffrage and led to passage of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, in 1920, which granted women the right to vote. By the late 20th century, the aging Lorton Correctional Facility was deemed too expensive to renovate and repair, so the prison was closed. The property was sold to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 2002, and has since been redeveloped into a vibrant suburban community with homes, schools, recreation facilities, and an arts center. At the Workhouse Arts Center, visitors to the Lucy Burns Museum can learn about the history of the Lorton Correctional Facility and its role in the movement for women’s suffrage.

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Nathaniel Lee

c/o Franconia Museum

6121 Franconia Road

Alexandria, VA 22310

franconiahistory@gmail.com

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