Lorton Reformatory
D.C. Workhouse and Reformatory Historic District | |
Main quad in 2020 | |
| Location | Laurel Hill, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Area | 511.3 acres (206.9 ha) |
| Built | 1910 |
| Architect | Snowden Ashford; Albert Harris |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Beaux Arts |
| NRHP reference No. | 06000052 |
| VLR No. | 029-0947 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | February 16, 2006 |
| Designated VLR | December 7, 2005, March 27, 2012 |
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. The District established an adjacent reformatory in 1914, and then a 10-acre (4.0 ha) 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 when it was formed in 1946.
After further expansions, a peak size of 3,500-acre (1,400 ha), 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 missile site W-64.