The Workhouse

The Turning Point Suffragist Memorial in Lorton, Virginia, commemorates the long struggle for women’s suffrage in the United States. In November, 1917, the suffrage movement had been pressuring for women’s voting rights and other legal rights for over 60 years. A large number of activists had been peacefully picketing the White House to keep the issue in the public eye. In fact, this was the first time the White House had been picketed by political activists.

From the beginning of Woodrow Wilson’s second term, National Woman’s Party members, known as the Silent Sentinels in distinctive purple, white and gold sashes, surrounded the White House in wordless protest. Their banners attempted to prick the president’s conscience, often charging him with hypocrisy.” (Washington Post, 2017)

From an information placard at the Suffragist
Memorial: a woman protesting “Kaiser Wilson.”

Upon the entry of the US into World War I, the protestors didn’t stop, but police actions against them became harsher and harsher.

Alice Paul, shown here in a statue at the Memorial, was one of the first to be arrested.
In jail in Washington DC, she was abused and force fed.

A mass arrest of protestors took place on November 14, 1917. A large group of women were taken to an unsanitary, abusive prison and workhouse in Lorton, Virginia, now the site of the Suffragist Memorial, which opened in 2021. The first night they spent at the Workhouse became known as the Night of Terror. They were badly beaten, given no food or water for 36 hours, and crowded into small, rat-infested cells. All their clothing and possessions were taken, and they were given filthy prison garments. 

News of the treatment of the suffragists created a turning point in public opinion. Support for women’s right to vote became overwhelming, and on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment was ratified, giving women the right to vote.

Statue of Carrie Chapman Catt, a leader of the  Suffragists.

Today, voting rights issues have not entirely been resolved.
The final placards of the memorial mention continuing struggles.

The Workhouse Today

Now at the site…

The prison buildings where the suffragist women were held and tortured was torn down some years ago, but a large part of the old workhouse still stands, and now houses artists’ studios, art classrooms, and galleries.

The arts center is a complex of large brick buildings from the days of the Workhouse.

We viewed exhibits of the instructors’ paintings and ceramics.

Murals decorate the outside walls.

We enjoyed walking on the paths in Occoquan Regional Park near the Suffragist Memorial and also walking around the adjacent Workhouse art center, taking advantage of a beautiful spring day in Virginia. Although I am aware of the general history of the suffragist movement, I was not aware of the events of 1917 that created a turning point for human rights. The placards, statues, and documentation of the memorial are very impressive, especially the panel with the names and dates of every woman who was imprisoned at the site.

blog post © 2022 mae sander.