Water Treatment Facilities-Lorton, VA
Dublin Core
Title
Water Treatment Facilities-Lorton, VA
Description
Project type: Infrastructure and Utilities, Sanitation and water disposal
New Deal Agencies: Public Works Administration (PWA), Works Progress Administration (WPA).
According to an index of WPA projects in the National Archives, the WPA constructed a sewage disposal plant, sedimentation tanks, a sludge digestion tank, and dripping beds in Lorton in 1936. In 1938, the Washington Post reported that funds were allocated for the PWA to conduct further improvements.
Exact location and status of project unknown, but the facility could now be the site of the Norman M. Cole, Jr. Pollution Control Plant, Virginia’s largest such facility.
New Deal Agencies: Public Works Administration (PWA), Works Progress Administration (WPA).
According to an index of WPA projects in the National Archives, the WPA constructed a sewage disposal plant, sedimentation tanks, a sludge digestion tank, and dripping beds in Lorton in 1936. In 1938, the Washington Post reported that funds were allocated for the PWA to conduct further improvements.
Exact location and status of project unknown, but the facility could now be the site of the Norman M. Cole, Jr. Pollution Control Plant, Virginia’s largest such facility.
Creator
Ashley Rhein
Source
https://livingnewdeal.org/projects/water-treatment-facilities-lorton-va/
Date
1936
Rights
National Archives, Record Group 69, “Microfilmed Index to WPA Projects.”
“PWA rejects grant for a new armory,” Washington Post, September 3, 1938, p. X15
“Jobs for 2,300 here assured in PWA work,” Washington Post, October 26, 1938, p. X17
“PWA rejects grant for a new armory,” Washington Post, September 3, 1938, p. X15
“Jobs for 2,300 here assured in PWA work,” Washington Post, October 26, 1938, p. X17
Place-Based Stories Item Type Metadata
Date
October 14, 2019
Format
One photo of the entrance sign of the facility.
One video of the front of the facility.
One video of the front of the facility.
Narrative
I ultimately chose this site because it was the closest to where I live, but as I read more about this facility, I was intrigued by the mystery surrounding it. The Noman M. Cole, Jr. Pollution Control Plant is not the original plant that was constructed in the 1930s. The original water treatment plant was replaced by the modern one that stands there today, but there is little information as to how, when, or why.
This air of mystery only increased when I arrived at the plant and found it surrounded by gates and a tall chain-link fence. Unable to venture further, I recorded my video and took my photo.
This air of mystery only increased when I arrived at the plant and found it surrounded by gates and a tall chain-link fence. Unable to venture further, I recorded my video and took my photo.
Collection
Citation
Ashley Rhein, “Water Treatment Facilities-Lorton, VA,” HIST 390 The Digital Past: A Cultural New Deal, accessed September 18, 2026, https://jessicadoeshistory.com/cnd/items/show/225.