Department of Planning and Development

CONTACT INFORMATION: Our offices are open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
703-324-1380 TTY 711
12055 Government Center Parkway
Fairfax, VA 22035
Tracy Strunk
Director

Laurel Hill Historical Documents

The Fairfax Department of Planning and Development has acquired over 400 architectural drawings, sketches, and plans from 1910-1979 that illustrate numerous historic buildings, structures, sites, and objects from the historic Lorton Reformatory and Penitentiary. The physical documents were digitized and published online in February 2013. The digitized Lorton Reformatory and Penitentiary documents are available below.

Background

The District of Columbia Workhouse and Reformatory Property, also known as Lorton Reformatory and Penitentiary, Lorton Prison and Laurel Hill, is a large tract of land in Fairfax County, Virginia, where the District of Columbia established a prison in 1910. The prison continued in operation until 2001. Conceived as a progressive facility, initially a low security work camp for people convicted of minor offenses, the prison included areas without walls, fences, or bars. The architectural documents contained within this website represent three prison campuses and related remote facilities built to accommodate various prison-related activities. The Reformatory and the Penitentiary occupy the northern tip of the historic district area, while the third campus, known as the Workhouse, occupies the southwestern tip. The Penitentiary wall encloses an area of a little over 11 acres. The historic buildings at the Workhouse comprise an area of about 31 acres.

Architectural Drawings, Sketches and Plans

Architectural drawings and plan documents may be viewed below by clicking on the image ID.  They are searchable by location, date, description and features by using the Ctrl-F search function.

Fairfax Virtual Assistant