Near Clifton in Fairfax County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Ivakota Farm

Photographed By J. J. Prats, April 27, 2008

1. Ivakota Farm Marker

Inscription. On this land stood Ivakota Farm, founded as a Progressive Era reform school and home for unwed mothers and their children. In 1915 Ella Shaw donated her 264-acre farm to the National Florence Crittenton Mission (NFCM). Named for the states where she had lived—Iowa, Virginia and North Dakota—Ivakota provided a rural setting for inspirational, physical, domestic and religious education primarily for delinquent girls. Social reformer and NFCM president Dr. Kate Waller Barrett oversaw the program until her death in 1925. Ivakota included a school, nursery, health clinic, dormitories, a commercial farm and a cemetery. After leasing to charitable organizations NFCM sold the land in 1962.

Erected 2007 by The Fairfax County History Commission. Dedicated on May 13th.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Charity & Public Work. In addition, it is included in the Virginia, Fairfax County History Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1915.

Location. 38° 47.63′ N, 77° 24.277′ W. Marker is near Clifton, Virginia, in Fairfax County. Marker is at the intersection of Balmoral Forest Road and Compton Road (County Route 659), on the right when traveling south on Balmoral Forest Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Clifton VA 20124, United States of America. Touch for directions.

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At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Clifton Creek House (approx. 1.2 miles away); Clifton Presbyterian Church (approx. 1.3 miles away); Mathers House (approx. 1.3 miles away); Clifton Hotel (approx. 1.3 miles away); Union Mills Historic Site (approx. 1.3 miles away); “Pink” House (approx. 1.3 miles away); Barn (approx. 1.3 miles away); Sangster's Station (approx. 1.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Clifton.

Also see . . . Growing Success at Ivakota Farm—Troubled Young Women get a Helping Hand to Gain a Leg Up. 2007 article by Sharon Cavileer in the South County Chronicle. “The story began simply enough with a late-night knock on one door and a plea for help. Dr. Kate Waller Barrett, the wife of an Episcopal minister in Atlanta, was so moved by a late-night visit of an unwed mother that she dedicated her life to ‘wipe out some of the inequities that were meted out to my sisters who were so helpless to help themselves’.” (Submitted on April 27, 2008.)

Photographed By J. J. Prats, April 27, 2008

2. Ivakota Farm Marker

Ivakota Farm cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Paul Crumlish, August 27, 2009

3. Ivakota Farm cemetery

No traditional headstone or gravestones were visible through the undergrowth. While there are a few stray rocks, it is unclear whether they were placed there to mark graves or are just random stones.

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

Photographed By Allen C. Browne, August 1, 2015

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

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

“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

Credits. This page was last revised on November 30, 2017. It was originally submitted on April 27, 2008, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 3,855 times since then and 99 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 27, 2008, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 3. submitted on August 27, 2009, by PaulwC3 of Northern, Virginia. 4. submitted on November 16, 2017, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland.