A snap shot in time of Lorton, Virginia

Lorton, Virginia

How time has changed this area.  It was but 10 years ago when the biggest known symbol of Lorton, Virginia closed it's doors to the last violent convicted felony prisoners at the Lorton Correctional Complex.  This complex was open in the early 1900's and only housed minimal security prisoners for the District of Columbia (DC)  It was that over the years the population rose to over 10000.  The overpopulation and the violent and drug crimes that ran ramped inside the prison itself was enough to raise concern of the citizens of the rural city of Lorton.  In 1997, Congress conveined and voted to close Lorton Correctional Complex over the next 4 years.

Since the closing of the Lorton Correctional Complex, the land was given to Fairfax County and since then Lorton had been a striving and developing area.  The 3000 acres of land that the complex sat on was renovated and developed.  Firstly, the beautiful open courtyard and the barracks were saved and turned into a Arts and Crafts complex called DC Workhouse Arts Center:

This complex has brought a unity of community back to the area which was separated by a huge prison in the middle.  With this change it also brought new housing developments and schools to be built in the area which is bringing more population in this area. Three big shopping complexes have opened in the surrounding areas:

Lorton Market Shopping right off I-95 and Lorton Road:

Lorton Town Center on Lorton Station Road (right in the heart of new housing development):

Lorton Valley on Ox Road which is the western most area of Lorton:

The other awesome symbol of Lorton which also came from the land the correctional complex was on are the regional parks that were developed.  This neighborhood now has The Occoquan Regional Park, Laurel Hill Golf Course and the Laurel Hill and Equestrian Park.  These parks are used daily and Lorton hosts many community events at the different parks year round.

Since I work from home, I don't commute except to make it to the local Starbucks at the Lorton Valley Shopping Center.  This is where I will hold small business meetings.  I have Xed both my home and the Starbucks in my neighborhood to show I practically travel through the entire city of Lorton to go from my house to Starbucks.  I get to see my neighborhood as it become vibrant and busy almost each morning.

Here is the Map of my neighborhood:  Lorton, Virginia

Lorton, Virginia

Using Archival Materials To Study My Neighborhood!

With my ongoing study of my neighborhood in Lorton, Va, I will be using the Special Collections & Archives (SCA) at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.  I will enter the SCA webpage through the GMU site.  Using the 'Our Collection' button, I can locate information about my neighborhood.  There are 12 different titles in the collections area to choose from and locate any type of information for my neighborhood.

One of the most interesting stories I have located in my neighborhood was the situation with the Women's Suffrage in Washington, DC.  The Lorton Prison was located in my neighborhood and it was the location where it held many women who were arrested as they protested in Washington, D.C.  They were held at the workhouse.  In the table of contents, I located the subject "Guide to the League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area records, 1948 - 2009" and the area "League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area C0031" will shed a light on this subject.  I look forward to continue my search to see how my neighborhood was used in the past.

An additional archive item I am interested in looking at is the "Guide to the Tom Davis papers, 1994 - 2008" which displays the "Memorandum of agreement on the transfer of the Lorton Correctional Complex out of Federal ownership, 2001" This was a huge event in my neighborhood as the correctional facility was closed and turned into a D. C. Workhouse of Arts.  I want to be able to read these papers and see if gives me a better insight of why they closed the correctional facility and who purchased the land around it that allowed the construction of many facilities to help the growth of the area.

Looking at all the information from the Special Collections & Archives at George Mason University available for my neighborhood may give me a better look at it's history.