Stafford in Stafford County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Katherine Harwood Waller Barrett

(1857 - 1925)

Photographed by Kathy Walker, December 28, 2013

1. Katherine Harwood Waller Barrett Marker

Inscription. Born nearby at Clifton, Katherine Harwood Waller Barrett earned medical and nursing degrees. She devoted her professional life to the care and education of unmarried pregnant women, a group previously treated as outcasts. With philanthropist Charles Nelson Crittenton, Barrett founded a rescue home for unmarried pregnant girls in Atlanta in 1893. After her move to Northern Virginia, they co-founded the national Florence Crittenton Mission, the first philanthropic institution chartered by Congress. Supported by presidents, Barrett pursued her pioneering work nationally and internationally. For the first time for a woman, the flag at the Virginia State Capitol was lowered at her death in 1925.

Erected 2008 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number E-135.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Science & Medicine • Women. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1893.

Location. 38° 28.234′ N, 77° 20.274′ W. Marker is in Stafford, Virginia, in Stafford County. It is on Widewater Road (County Route 611) 0 miles east of Decatur Rd (County Route 635), on the left when

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traveling east. In front of Widewater Fire & Rescue station. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 749 Widewater Rd, Stafford VA 22554, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area,

in Northern Virginia,

and in the Piedmont.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Oak Grove Baptist Church (approx. 1.2 miles away); Bradley Clinic (approx. 2.2 miles away); Taylor Hall (approx. 2.3 miles away); Yeckel Hall (approx. 2.3 miles away); Transporting the Stone (approx. 2.7 miles away); Quarrying the Stone (approx. 2.7 miles away); Island Ownership (approx. 2.7 miles away); Native American Presence (approx. 2.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Stafford.

More about this marker. The marker was approved in 2008. However, it was not installed until 2012. The dedication and unveiling ceremony was held October 27, 2012.

Regarding Katherine Harwood Waller Barrett. Clifton, her family home, is located on the Potomac River, a short drive east along Route 611. The home is private and not viewable from public roads.

Kate Waller Barrett Elementary School located at 150 Duffey Dr. Stafford, VA 22556 was built in 2002.
There is also a Kate Waller Barrett Elementary School in Arlington County, VA.

Photographed by Kathy Walker, December 28, 2013

2. Katherine Harwood Waller Barrett Marker

In front of Widewater Fire and Recue

Dr. Kate Waller Barrett image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, August 1, 2015

3. Dr. Kate Waller Barrett

This portrait of Kate Waller Barrett hangs in the Kate Waller Barrett Branch of the Alexandria Virginia Public Library.

Kate Waller Barrett, M.D. c. 1857-1925<br>Humanitarian, Social Activist image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, August 1, 2015

4. Kate Waller Barrett, M.D. c. 1857-1925
Humanitarian, Social Activist

“A woman without fear, with a great heart equal to her brilliant mind, a leader in every movement for the advancement of humankind, a champion of unpopular causes. The cause of the outcast woman, the cause of the ill-treated prisoner, the cause of those disbarred by circumstance from educational or social opportunity, the cause of the disfranchised woman, the cause of the disabled World War veteran – these difficult and at times disheartening movements absorbed her attention, but never caused her to lose her abundant faith, her youthful enthusiasm and her love of all sorts and conditions of people.” — Adele Clark

President, National Florence Crittenton Mission 1909-1925
National President, American Legion Auxiliary 1922-1923
President, National Council of Women 1911-1916
Member, Board of Visitors, College of William & Mary 1921-1925
Virginia State Regent, Daughters of the American Revolution 1919-1925
"Virginia's most distinguished woman"
— Governor E. Lee Trinkle
The Kate Waller Barrett Library building was donated in 1937 by Robert South Barrett and Viola Tupper Barrett Dedicated May 2010 Kate Waller Barrett Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Plaque in the Kate Waller Barrett Branch of the Alexandria Virginia Public Library

Clifton<br>Kate Waller Barrett House image. Click for full size.

Library of Congress

5. Clifton
Kate Waller Barrett House

1930's photo by Frances Benjamin Johnston

Credits. This page was last revised on July 9, 2021. It was originally submitted on December 28, 2013, by Kathy Walker of Stafford, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,081 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 28, 2013, by Kathy Walker of Stafford, Virginia. 3, 4. submitted on August 2, 2015, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. 5. submitted on November 19, 2017, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.