Did you know that the Women’s Suffrage Movement lasted nearly 100 years? The movement fought for women to have the right to vote in the United States. It wasn’t until August 18, 1920 that the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, granting women this right. The Women’s Rights National Historical Park encapsulates many locations that were pivotal in this campaign.
In 1848, a group of abolitionist activists gathered in Seneca Falls New York to converse about Women’s Rights. They planned a two-day convention to amplify their cause. This convention would end up changing the course of women’s history in the United States.
In the election of 1920, more than 8 million women made their way to the polls to vote for the very first time. Unfortunately, the founders of the movement did not live long enough to cast their first vote. Still, we honor them at the Women’s Rights National Historical Park.
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Women’s Rights National Historical Park
The Women’s Rights National Historical Park was established in 1980 in Seneca Falls, New York. The park consists of four properties that were important to the Women’s Suffrage Movement. These buildings include the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the Elizabeth Cady Stanton House, the M’Clintock House, and the Richard Hunt House.
The homes that are part of the Women’s Rights National Historical Park served as meeting grounds for the drafting of the Declaration of Sentiments and other important historical documents. The Declaration of Sentiments was modeled after the Declaration of Independence and was the backbone for the Women’s Suffrage Movement that lasted until 1920.
The Visitor's Center
The Visitor Center houses a massive, stunning life-size bronze sculpture of twenty men and women that attended the first Women’s Rights Convention. The statue, The First Wave, includes the figures of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Richard and Jane Hunt, James and Lucretia Mott, Thomas and Mary Ann M’Clintock, Martha Wright, and Frederick Douglass.
The two-day convention took place on July 19 and 20 in 1848 with more than 300 people in attendance. Many of the attendees signed a “Declaration of Sentiments” which declared that “all men and women are created equal.”
Wesleyan Methodist Church
Wesleyan Methodist Church is part of the Women’s Rights National Historical Park complex. It was constructed in 1843 and was the site of the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, the first Women’s Rights Convention. It was here that about 300 people came together to hear Elizabeth Cady Stanton demand the right for women to vote.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton Houes
This historic home, located at 32 Washington Street, was the home of suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton from 1847 to 1862. The home is now a museum and a cornerstone for the Women’s Rights National Historical Park.
The oldest portion of the home, the south wing, dates back to before 1830. The north wing was added around 1840. Henry and Elizabeth Cady Stanton eventually moved in 1847.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an American writer and activist who led the Women’s Rights Movement. She was the primary force behind the Seneca Falls Convention and the primary author of the Declaration of Sentiments. She was also active in abolitionism.
She met Susan B. Anthony, another key social reformer and activist, in 1851. The women formed a decades-long partnership that was a key to the development of the Women’s Rights Movement. The women then went on to form the American Equal Rights Association which campaigned for equal rights for people of color and women.
The home was acquired by the National Park Service in 1982 and became part of the Women’s Rights National Historical Park.
M'Clintock House
This historic two-story, Federal style home was home to the Quaker pharmacist Thomas M’Clintock and his wife Mary Ann. The home was used as a meeting space to write the Declaration of Sentiments, resolutions, and speeches for the Women’s Rights Convention. Today, the home stands as an important part of the Women’s Rights National Historical Park.
Mary Ann M’Clintock and her husband, Thomas, were active in anti-slave movements in Philadelphia. Mary Ann was one of the founding members of the Philadelphia Female Ani-Slavery Society where she became close to abolitionist Lucretia Mott.
Richard Hunt House
The Hunt House is located in the nearby town of Waterloo. This stately home was the residence of the Hunt family. This home is where Jane Hunt, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Martha Coffin Wright, and Mary Ann M’Clintock planned the First Women’s Rights Convention.
Jane Clothier Hunt was an American Quaker that believed in social reform and equal rights. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt’s home is thought to have served as a station in the Underground Railroad.
Votes For Women History Trail
The Votes For Women History Trail was created in 2009. The trail is a drivable route that links sights throughout upstate New York that were important to the Women’s Suffrage Movement.
Sites on the trail include:
- Susan B. Anthon House (Rochester)
- Mount Hope Cemetery (Rochester)
- Antoinette Louisa Brown Blackwell Childhood Home (Henrietta)
- M’Clintock House (Waterloo)
- Women’s Rights National Historical Park
Fun Fact: The term womxn has been in print since the 1970s as an alternative to the word “woman” or “women”. The term was created to avoid perceived sexism in the standard spelling- which contains the word “man” or “men”.
Visiting Women's Rights National Historical Park
Physical Address: 136 Fall Street, Seneca Falls, NY
The Women’s Rights National Historical Park is open daily with reduced programming during the winter months. The site is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day.
All sites and events are free.
Fun Fact: Harriet Tubman played a role in the Women’s Suffrage Movement. She traveled to New York, Boston, and DC to speak out in favor of women’s votings rights. She is buried in the nearby Fort Hill Cemetery and there is a National Historical Park nearby in her honor.
What is there to do Nearby?
- Harriet Tubman National Historical Park
- Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park
- Chimney Bluffs State Park
- Cayuga Lake Wine Trail
- Fort Stanwix National Monument
- Robert H. Treman State Park
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