Turning Point Suffragist Memorial

The Turning Point Suffragist Memorial is a monument to American suffragists. The memorial is located in Lorton, Virginia's Occoquan Regional Park and stands in close proximity to Occoquan Workhouse, a prison where 168 suffragists were once held during the 1910s Silent Sentinels demonstrations. At the workhouse, suffragists were treated inhumanely, and after a violent Night of Terror, the suffrage movement gained extra momentum. The organizers behind the memorial chose the location because of the historical significance of the Night of Terror. The memorial opened in May 2021. It was planned to coincide with the 2020 centennial of the ratification of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote in the U.S. The memorial's planners raised funds from individuals and Fairfax County. NOVA Parks, which previously held the memorial's land, pledged a free land transfer and permanent maintenance of the site. The National Park Service donated a section of White House fence, forged in the 1800s, to the memorial. Nancy Lyons Sargeant, president of the memorial association, described the memorial as an educational way of sharing history that could inspire "the need for vigilance in the quest for equal rights." During the dedication ceremony, Deborah Wake, the president of the Virginia League of Women Voters, spoke about the fight for voting rights continuing into the present. The me

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