Turning Point Suffragist Memorial QR Site

The Turning Point Suffragist Memorial, the first national memorial to honor all American woman suffragists, is located in the Occoquan Regional Park, 9751 Ox Road, Lorton, Virginia. It is located on  land that was formerly part of the District of Columbia Occoquan Workhouse where suffragists were imprisoned.

The Turning Point Suffragist Memorial

Entrance Plaza

The Entrance Plaza is a large paved area that includes the brick Turning Point Suffragist Memorial sign on the left and the Donor Wall on the right. Affixed to the light pole next to the road is a beautiful flag inspired by a suffrage brochure found at the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University and designed by Emily Boyer. The figure of Liberty is holding a ballot box and her torch to enlighten America to recognize women citizen’s right to vote.

On the left side of the gates, a statue of Alice Paul is posed as a “Silent Sentinel” holding a picket banner, “Mr. President, What Will You Do for Woman Suffrage.” She was arrested while demonstrating at the White House and imprisoned at the District of Columbia Jail. She was a founder and leader of the National Woman’s Party, and leader of the suffragists imprisoned nearby.  However, she was kept separate from them in the D.C. Jail. 

Between the Alice Paul statue and the Donor Wall, is a scaled replica of the White House driveway entrance gates, where the “Silent Sentinels” picketed.

Suffragists Memorial Plaza

The Suffragists Memorial Plaza begins just inside the gates and is a long paved area, wide at the gates narrowing towards its far end, at the Turning Point Plaza. The Suffragist Commemorative Wall is on the right side as you enter. The wall honors and lists the names of the “Silent Sentinel” suffragists who were imprisoned at Lorton, Virginia and in the District of Columbia Jail for picketing President Wilson’s White House in 1917.

On the left side of the Suffragists Memorial Plaza is the statue of Mary Church Terrell, prominent African American suffrage leader, lecturer, writer, first president of the National Association of Colored Women, and co-founder of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People).  She is in a pose as lecturer. She was also a “Silent Sentinel” but before the arrests began in June 1917. Beyond the statue and also on the left side, is a ballot box similar to those used at the time woman suffrage was won. The ballot box symbolizes the achievement of the woman suffrage movement.  There are also several benches along the left and right sides of this plaza.

Turning Point Plaza

The Turning Point Plaza is in the form of a circle with the19 Informational Stations, for the 19th Amendment, organized in pairs mounted back to back in single frames going clockwise around the outside edge of the circle. The double wide 19th Station is located in an area that juts out from the circular plaza.

A summary of the suffrage story is provided here in the form of an outline of the 19 Informational Stations, the core of the Turning Point Suffragist Memorial. The main contributors to the 19 Informational Stations are Edith Mayo, Emily McCoy, and Robert P. J. Cooney, Jr. Their brief biographies are provided. Our Panel of Scholars, all of whom have published on suffrage, are Dr. Sidney Bland, Dr. Ann D. Gordon, and Dr. J. D. Zahniser. Their brief biographies are provided. The photo credits for the 19 stations and book sources are also provided.

A bridge is located between the 10th and 11th Informational Stations. Station 10 covers the White House picketing by Alice Paul’s National Woman’s Party during the first 6 months when the “Silent Sentinels'” picketing was not interrupted. Station 11 begins the period of arrests and imprisonment. The bridge spans a bed of river rocks. The bridge ia an element to engage the community. For example, the Girls Scouts may use the memorial and bridge as the setting for their Bridge Ceremony. We should note here that the Girls Scouts now have a suffrage badge.

In the center of the circle is an entablature supported by columns. Around the entablature are six words to represent the suffrage movement: Justice, Democracy, Liberty, Equality, Freedom, and Advocacy. This structure surrounds the beautiful statue of Carrie Chapman Catt in a triumphant pose.  She was the president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, by far the largest most influential suffrage organization.  In her statue she is posing in triumph after ratification of the 19th Amendment  Nashville, Tennessee. She received bouquets of flowers at numerous stops on her way back to New York. Catt never participated in demonstrations, and therefore was never arrested and never here at Lorton, Virginia.

Historic White House Fence

From the 19th Informational Station a short path leads to the Historic White House Fence and its viewing plaza. This iron fence, which once shielded the White House, now helps teach history. The early 20th century suffragists, the “Silent Sentinels.” who stood silently in front of the fence with banners, were among the most visible advocates for a woman’s right to vote.  They were one of the first to use the White House fence as their backdrop in a pivotal moment in one of the greatest civil rights triumphs in American history. Through a formal agreement, the National Park Service (NPS) has lent a section of the historic White House fence that dates to the late 1800s to NOVA Parks, for inclusion in the memorial. The loan of this section of the fence to the memorial was a collaboration among the National Park Service, the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, the Turning Point Suffragist Memorial Association, and NOVA Parks. In addition NPS provided an historic marker to describe the fence for visitors.

Memorial Garden

Finally a Memorial Garden provides a quiet separate place with selected plantings where visitors can contemplate and reflect on the extraordinary achievement of the suffragists and be inspired at learning their story. A number of benches along pathways provide ample seating for a short rest, reflection, and meditation opportunity for all who come. Visitors enter the Memorial Garden through a path from the Suffragist Memorial Plaza on the left side near the Ballot Box.