The Lorton Reformatory, also known as the Lorton Correctional Complex, is a former prison complex in Lorton, Virginia, established in 1910 for the District of Columbia, United States. The complex began as a prison farm called the Occoquan Workhouse for nonviolent offenders serving short sentences.

In 1935, a set of cell blocks for solitary confinement were built, known as “The Hole.” Prison leaders added barbed wire in the 1950s. Lorton continued to offer work opportunities to those imprisoned even while reform became less of a goal.

Conceived in 1908 during Theodore Roosevelt’s administration, the Lorton facility was a national model for prison reform both with its dormitory style architecture and its philosophy of providing prisoners with healthy outdoor work and education.

The Occoquan Workhouse (later Lorton Reformatory and Lorton Correctional Complex) in Lorton, Virginia was a jail facility used by the District of Columbia. It was built in 1910. At first, it housed prisoners serving short sentences for offenses like disorderly conduct.

May 30, 2024 · The details in the cell are informed by Mowatt’s own experiences as a returned citizen: Not only did he spend a considerable hunk of the ’90s incarcerated at Lorton on drug charges, he actually occupied this exact cell in the Hole for six months in 1995.

Today, the Lorton Reformatory's cells and echoing hallways sit empty and decaying. But once, this prison was the site of overcrowding, horrible conditions, and at least one haunting story of cruelty and abuse.

Jul 9, 2020 · Lorton had been famous for being a prison “without walls,” but slowly gained them over time. The increasing security at Lorton Reformatory transformed the space, removing it from the Progressive Era’s original ideas for reform and more toward outright imprisonment.

Aug 17, 2020 · It is the site of the former Women’s Workhouse (later the D.C. Correctional Facility at Lorton), yet today is a haven for artists. The new museum, which contains original jail cells, details 91 years of prison history (1910–2001) and showcases the suffragists who were imprisoned there.

Jul 5, 2018 · Originally commissioned by Theodore Roosevelt, the Lorton Reformatory was a place for inmates to learn a new job trade. The cells were unique in that they resembled dorms and offered more natural lighting than the typical prison cell.

Feb 9, 2020 · Lorton Reformatory Prison Visit Keys to Open the Cells Prison Building with Blue Sky Background The Lorton Reformatory Prison, commonly known at the Workhouse prison, was established in 1910 as an industrial farm where inmates were …