Every time women exercise their right to vote, purchase their own home, or control their own wages, they owe a debt to the women of the First Women's Rights Convention of 1848, considered by many historians to be the formal beginnings of the American women's rights movement. Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls and Waterloo, New York, preserves the historic site where Americans began to shift their conceptions about the role of women in our society.

The park features the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, site of the 1848 convention, and home of the women's rights movement's most important figure, Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Cady Stanton worked with fellow advocates such as Susan B. Anthony to secure women the right to vote. She consistently demonstrated the courage of her convictions by speaking up for the rights of women, even in the midst of fierce resistance. The 25-year-old Women's Rights National Historical Park not only documents her amazing life, but also includes the Jane and Richard Hunt House, where the historic convention was initiated and the Thomas and Mary Ann M'Clintock House in Waterloo, where the convention was planned.

The park's visitor center includes a museum with exhibits detailing the history of the women's rights movement through the early 1990s, showcases the film “Dreams of Equality,” and features a statue exhibit entitled "The First Wave" depicting the planners of the First Women's Rights Convention.

NPCA Trustee Emeritus Gretchen Long and Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY) urge Congress to pass the National Women's Rights History Project Act (H.R. 3114), a bill that would establish a commemorative trail linking many of the historic sites where the fight for women's rights was born, from Women’s Rights National Historical Park in NY to other sites not yet protected by the National Park Service, including Susan B. Anthony's house.   They co-authored a letter to Congress that was printed in The Hill on May 21st, 2008. 

If You Go > >

The park has added self-guided audio tours.  Just call 585.627.4162 on your cell phone and follow the menu to select one of the five stops.