The Lucy Burns Museum at the Workhouse Arts Center is proud to present the second season of Learning at Lunch, a series illuminating aspects of the former prison’s 91-year history. Each month, we invite an expert to tackle a topic from our complicated past. After a brief 30-minute talk, presenters answer audience questions, and all attendees are invited to visit the museum following the program. Table seating provided and attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunch; snacks and beverages available for purchase.

The Occoquan Workhouse started as an experiment, 29 men were sent down the river on a barge from DC to the banks of the Occoquan River, to a plot of mostly undeveloped land. Their goal: to build the prison they would reside within. How did they manage? What were the rules? Were there really no fences or bars? Join our docent Alice Reagan, author and professor emeritus, as she explores the first ten years of the Lorton Correctional Complex.

Future talks in this series: 

Friday, August 23, Noon

Suffragists UNcarcerated with Kenena Spalding

Friday, September 27, Noon

Cold War Virginia with Francis Gary Powers Jr.