Exploring An Abandoned Prison Lorton, Virginia

March 2, 2020

#362

Gentle reader,

While the title may be titillating, we did not enter any of the buildings, because unlike today, yesterday was definitely March coming in like a lion. With roaring winds, so we stayed in the car.

Lorton Reformatory was a prison for residents of Washington, D.C. which of course, (NIMBY*) did not have land for a prison. So, in the early 20th Century, after reports of the deplorable conditions of the D.C. Jail and Workhouse, they purchased 1,155 acres in Fairfax County, Virginia to build a prison and workhouse for their prisoners. *Not In My Back Yard.

Then, the Lorton area of Farifax was  largely rural with Route 123, (which is now a divided 50 miles-per-hour multi-lane road) was until a few years ago a winding two-lane country road, running north and south past the entrance. 

Prior to the turn of the Millennium, the D.C. government bowed to pressure from Fairfax County and land developers and moved all their prisoners to Ohio. "Want to visit Daddy? OK, let me check the Greyhound bus schedules." Outcry from families and the ACLU did no good. They were moved WAY out of state.

To satisfy your curiosity as to what Lorton Reformatory once was, here are some links to articles by others with photos of places no longer accessible or even existing.

Lorton Reformatory: an Abandoned Penitentiary in Lorton, VA 

I See Beauty All Around Goes Behind Bars at the Old Lorton Reformatory – I see beauty all around by rob paine 

Lorton Reformatory (Prison) - Lorton, Virginia 


The Lorton Prison Stories Project

And here are a few YouTube videos as well.

(22) Lorton Reformatory - Lorton VA - YouTube  

Lorton Prison - Silverbrook Road Compound - YouTube
 
(22) Lorton Prison Maximum Security - YouTube
 
The prison which occupied what is now very prime real estate in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Fairfax County in northern Virginia has been transformed into: 

Home - Workhouse Arts Center

The land which abuts a huge county landfill/power generator station (they burn trash to make electricity) has partially been turned over to the landfill and the rest sold to developers. They have razed the buildings. 

This photo is from Fairfax county and shows how massive it once was. The black and white portions of the photo which have curves lines of buildings on streets are homes that have already been built on former prison land as of 2015.

A guard tower which is not really much a tower as the photo shows, below.

There is truly, other than the original "public" buildings that front Ox Road (Route 123), very little left of the inmate housing structures. The land being too valuable to the county for their tax coffers.

A "physical plant" which provided steam heat  to many of the buildings. The picnic tables are part of the art center.

We have no idea what this small structure was made for. Not for inmates to use, that much is obvious.

Only two of the imposing guard towers remain and artists have attempted to create some beauty with them.

As far as we could tell without a drone to scout for us, all of the actual inmate buildings are gone.

The buildings visible from passing roads were quite nice to look at, by prison standards. One can see that these windows were once arched.

As are the doorways and once the windows of this outbuilding. 

This outbuilding with detail below seems to have housed small vehicles, perhaps for plowing snow or? Since prisons are like small cities, the people living and working there need most things that free people take for granted.

Someone has broken the hasp away from the door frame. With all the windows bricked or boarded up, who knows what might still be inside.

This barn-shaped structure may have house other prison maintenance vehicles or equipment.

The last outbuilding prior to exiting onto the grounds onto Lorton Road which runs perpendicular to Route 123, Ox Road. There IS another road leading off of Lorton Road into what was prison land, but it is chained off. 

Since I try not to use anything Google (Google owns Blogger and YouTube, so I am stuck using those), I did not download Google Earth to see what I could see. But feel free to do so.

I use:  DuckDuckGo — Privacy, simplified. A search engine. They do not track you. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this brief article with a look at what remains of Lorton Reformatory that was NOT converted to use for the Arts.

Scott

March 2, 2020

#362