Women's Rights National Historical Park

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Women's Rights National Historical Park
WesleyanChapel.JPG
The remains of the Wesleyan Chapel
USA New York relief location map.svg
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Location in New York
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Location in the United States
Location Seneca County, New York, USA
Nearest city Seneca Falls, NY
Coordinates 42°54′39″N76°48′05″W / 42.91083°N 76.80139°W / 42.91083; -76.80139
EstablishedDecember 28, 1980
Visitors34,294(in 2022) [1]
Governing body National Park Service
Website Women's Rights National Historical Park

The Women's Rights National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in Seneca Falls and Waterloo, New York, United States. Founded by an act of Congress in 1980 and first opened in 1982, the park was gradually expanded through purchases over the decades that followed. It recognizes the site of the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention, and the homes of several women's rights activists.

Contents

The park consists of four major historical properties: the Wesleyan Methodist Church, which was the site of the Seneca Falls Convention, the Elizabeth Cady Stanton House, the M'Clintock House and the Richard Hunt House. The park also includes a visitor center and an education and cultural center.

Background

Seneca Falls and Waterloo, New York, were important sites in the history of the fight for women's suffrage in the United States, as the site of the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention on July 19 and 20. The convention drew over 300 attendees, [2] many of whom signed the Declaration of Sentiments which was produced as a part of the convention. [3] The Declaration of Sentiments, the convention's defining document, which declared that "all men and women are created equal." [2] The conference was attended by notable figures in the movement, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, and Frederick Douglass. [3] The towns also held the homes of several suffragists in the 19th century, including Stanton. [4]

By 1980, the Methodist church had fallen into disrepair: portions had been converted into a laundromat, a car garage, and apartments. While homes that some of these women's rights activists had lived in still stood, many were privately occupied and in poor condition. [5]

Early history

Establishment

Efforts to establish a National Park in Seneca Falls and Waterloo began in the late 20th century. [6] Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a senator from New York, was a supporter of the park and submitted legislation to Congress suggesting its foundation. [7]

On December 28, 1980, United States Congress formally authorized creation of a "Women's Rights National Historical Park", with the passage of Pub. L.   96–607. The legislation recognized five buildings as having particular historic interest: the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the Elizabeth Cady Stanton House, M'Clintock House, Richard Hunt House, and Amelia Bloomer House. [4] [8] The legislation established the park with a mission to: [9]

preserve and interpret for the education, inspiration and benefit of present and future generations, the nationally significant historical and cultural sites and structures associated with the struggle for equal rights for women and to cooperate with State and local entities to preserve the character and historic setting of such sites and structures.

Growth

Although it had been created, the park did not own all the property outlined in legislation. The National Park Service (NPS) was permitted by the legislation to acquire the Wesleyan Church, the Stanton House, and the M'Clintock House. [10] The $11,000 Stanton House purchase was funded by Alan Alda, undertaken by the Elizabeth Cady Stanton foundation, and donated to the park. [6] The park was dedicated two years after it was established, [4] in July 1982. The dedication ceremony was attended by 3,000 people, and Alda was the keynote speaker. Many present at the dedication protested in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment, though the NPS made it clear they did not want the park to become politicized. [6]

Led by the park's first superintendent, Judy Hart, the NPS first focused on restoring the Stanton House. A 1985 profile described this work as the "most extreme historical restoration ever undertaken by the NPS." [5]

The park gradually expanded across the decades that followed. They undertook a large redevelopment plan, including renovating the church and the development of a park and visitor center. [11] In 1985 the M'Clintock House was purchased for the park, and two years later the NPS announced a competition to design the complex that would include the park's visitor center around the Church. While the NPS suggested that the design be a "re-imagination" of the Church, because no information existed about its original design, others, including Moynihan, contended that efforts should be made to fully restore it. By this point, only two walls of the Church and 75% of its roof remained. [7] [12]

In 1989 they purchased the rest of the block containing the Wesleyan Church, a .28 acres (0.11 ha) parcel. [11] The visitor center was opened in July 1993, near the Church. [13] It is two stories tall, holding various exhibits relating to women's suffrage and gender equality. [12] By 1998, the park had been fully developed: known as Declaration Park, it includes a waterfall, landscaped grounds, and a stone wall with the Declaration of Sentiments written on it. [13] By 1999, the park held 5.7 acres (2.3 ha) of land. [14]

In 2000, the Hunt House, which had previously been owned by private owners, was placed on auction. Despite fears that it would be again bought by a private citizen, the house was purchased by the nonprofit Trust For Public Land for $231,000. The Trust announced that it would donate the building to the park and work on restoration. Half of the funding was provided by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and half by the Trust For Public Land. The park itself was prohibited from reaching out to the previous owners of the house. [15]

Later history

In 1998 the park held celebrations recognizing the 150th anniversary of the Seneca Falls convention which were attended by over 14,000 people. As part of the event, Hillary Clinton delivered a speech. By 2005, the park had not achieved as much recognition as the organizers initially hoped, with about 500,000 visitors since opening. Park officials attributed this in part to their location and in part to the lengthy process of establishing and developing the park. [4] The M'Clintock house opened after restoration and repair work in the early 2000s. As of 2006, the Hunt house was still undergoing work. Restoration work had not been undertaken on the Methodist Church, while the Stanton house had already been almost fully restored to its state in the late 1840s. [12]

In the later half of the 2010s, the park accumulated a backlog of necessary maintenance tasks: in 2015, the repairs needed were estimated at $1.4 million, with over $800,000 of it "critical" repairs. [16] This had risen to $4.6 million in 2017 and $5.4 million in 2018. Necessary repairs were concentrated at the visitor center, but also present in several of the historic homes. [17] In 2022, there were an estimated $11 million needed repairs. [18]

As of 2014, the park offered tours from rangers, and self-guided tours. [19] In addition to its visitor center, the park has an education and cultural center housing the Suffrage Press Printshop. [20] The park's holdings are not in one continuous place, but are instead spread out over 5 miles (8.0 km). [12] It had 34,294 visitors in 2022. [1] As of March 31, 2023, the park held 7.03 acres (2.84 ha) of land. [21]

The First Wave

The Visitor Center lobby houses a large, life-size bronze sculpture, The First Wave, which consists of twenty figures representing women and men who attended the first Women's Rights Convention. Nine of the sculpture's figures represent actual participants and organizers of the convention: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Mary Ann M'Clintock, Martha Wright, Jane Hunt, Frederick Douglass, James Mott, Thomas M'Clintock, and Richard Hunt. The other eleven figures represent the anonymous women and men who participated in the convention. Many of the participants signed the Declaration of Sentiments. [2]

Superintendents

Votes For Women History Trail

The Votes For Women History Trail, created as part of the federal Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, is administered by the Department of the Interior through the Women's Rights National Historical Park. The Trail is an automobile route that links sites throughout upstate New York important to the establishment of women's suffrage.

Sites on the trail include:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Declaration of Sentiments</span> 1848 document signed by attendees of the Seneca Falls Convention

The Declaration of Sentiments, also known as the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments, is a document signed in 1848 by 68 women and 32 men—100 out of some 300 attendees at the first women's rights convention to be organized by women. Held in Seneca Falls, New York, the convention is now known as the Seneca Falls Convention. The principal author of the Declaration was Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who modeled it upon the United States Declaration of Independence. She was a key organizer of the convention along with Lucretia Coffin Mott, and Martha Coffin Wright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Cady Stanton</span> American suffragist (1815–1902)

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, the first convention to be called for the sole purpose of discussing women's rights, and was the primary author of its Declaration of Sentiments. Her demand for women's right to vote generated a controversy at the convention but quickly became a central tenet of the women's movement. She was also active in other social reform activities, especially abolitionism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seneca Falls Convention</span> First womens rights convention (1848)

The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women's rights convention. It advertised itself as "a convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman". Held in the Wesleyan Chapel of the town of Seneca Falls, New York, it spanned two days over July 19–20, 1848. Attracting widespread attention, it was soon followed by other women's rights conventions, including the Rochester Women's Rights Convention in Rochester, New York, two weeks later. In 1850 the first in a series of annual National Women's Rights Conventions met in Worcester, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Woman Suffrage Association</span> US 19th-century suffrage organization

The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) was formed on May 15, 1869, to work for women's suffrage in the United States. Its main leaders were Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. It was created after the women's rights movement split over the proposed Fifteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which would in effect extend voting rights to black men. One wing of the movement supported the amendment while the other, the wing that formed the NWSA, opposed it, insisting that voting rights be extended to all women and all African Americans at the same time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seneca Falls (CDP), New York</span> Hamlet and CDP in New York, United States

Seneca Falls is a hamlet and census-designated place in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 6,681 at the 2010 census. The 2020 census population of Seneca Falls CDP was 6,809. The hamlet is in the Town of Seneca Falls, east of Geneva. It was an incorporated village from 1831 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martha Coffin Wright</span> American feminist and abolitionist (1806–1875)

Martha Coffin Wright was an American feminist, abolitionist, and signatory of the Declaration of Sentiments who was a close friend and supporter of Harriet Tubman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Cady Stanton House (Seneca Falls, New York)</span> Historic house in New York, United States

The Elizabeth Cady Stanton House is a historic house at 32 Washington Street in the village of Seneca Falls, New York. Built before 1830, it was the home of suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) from 1847 to 1862. It is now a historic house museum as part of Women's Rights National Historical Park. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas M'Clintock</span> American abolitionist (1792–1876)

Thomas M'Clintock was an American pharmacist and a leading Quaker organizer for many reforms, including abolishing slavery, achieving women's rights, and modernizing Quakerism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amelia Bloomer</span> Womens rights activist and temperance advocate

Amelia Jenks Bloomer was an American newspaper editor, women's rights and temperance advocate. Even though she did not create the women's clothing reform style known as bloomers, her name became associated with it because of her early and strong advocacy. In her work with The Lily, she became the first woman to own, operate and edit a newspaper for women.

The National Women's Rights Convention was an annual series of meetings that increased the visibility of the early women's rights movement in the United States. First held in 1850 in Worcester, Massachusetts, the National Women's Rights Convention combined both female and male leadership and attracted a wide base of support including temperance advocates and abolitionists. Speeches were given on the subjects of equal wages, expanded education and career opportunities, women's property rights, marriage reform, and temperance. Chief among the concerns discussed at the convention was the passage of laws that would give women the right to vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wesleyan Methodist Church (Seneca Falls, New York)</span> Historic church in New York, United States

Wesleyan Methodist Church is a historic Wesleyan church located at Seneca Falls in Seneca County, New York. It was constructed in 1843. All interior features have been removed and three original walls stand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M'Clintock House</span> Historic house in New York, United States

M'Clintock House, also known as the Baptist Parsonage, is a historic home located at Waterloo in Seneca County, New York. It is a two-story, Federal style brick dwelling built in 1833–1836. The home is notable as the residence of Quaker pharmacist Thomas M'Clintock and his wife Mary Ann from 1836 to 1856. On July 16, 1848, the home was the location where the Declaration of Sentiments and other resolutions and speeches were drawn up for the subsequent First Women's Rights Convention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucretia Mott</span> American Quaker abolitionist and suffragist (1793–1880)

Lucretia Mott was an American Quaker, abolitionist, women's rights activist, and social reformer. She had formed the idea of reforming the position of women in society when she was amongst the women excluded from the World Anti-Slavery Convention held in London in 1840. In 1848, she was invited by Jane Hunt to a meeting that led to the first public gathering about women's rights, the Seneca Falls Convention, during which the Declaration of Sentiments was written.

Nadia Shahram is an Iranian mediation attorney, author, and women's rights advocate. She is the founder and president of the Coalition for the Advancement of Muslim Women (CAMW), an organisation promoting equality for Muslim women. At a CAMW convention Shahram and the CAMW unveiled the Declaration of Equalities for Muslim Women during the 2014 Convention Days in Seneca Falls, New York. One year later, Shahram presented the Declaration to the Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, where it now hangs on permanent display in the Visitor Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Hunt</span> American Quaker

Jane Clothier Hunt or Jane Clothier Master was an American Quaker who hosted the Seneca Falls meeting of Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rochester Women's Rights Convention of 1848</span>

The Rochester Women's Rights Convention of 1848 met on August 2, 1848 in Rochester, New York. Many of its organizers had participated in the Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention, two weeks earlier in Seneca Falls, a smaller town not far away. The Rochester convention elected Abigail Bush as its presiding officer, making it the first U.S. public meeting composed of both sexes to be presided by a woman. This controversial step was opposed even by some of the meeting's leading participants. The convention approved the Declaration of Sentiments that had first been introduced at the Seneca Falls Convention, including the controversial call for women's right to vote. It also discussed the rights of working women and took steps that led to the formation of a local organization to support those rights.

The Ohio Women's Convention at Salem in 1850 met on April 19–20, 1850 in Salem, Ohio, a center for reform activity. It was the third in a series of women's rights conventions that began with the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848. It was the first of these conventions to be organized on a statewide basis. About five hundred people attended. All of the convention's officers were women. Men were not allowed to vote, sit on the platform or speak during the convention. The convention sent a memorial to the convention that was preparing a new Ohio state constitution, asking it to provide for women's right to vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Ann M'Clintock</span> American suffragist and abolitionist

Mary Ann M'Clintock or Mary Ann McClintock (1800–1884) is best known for her role in the formation of the women's suffrage movement, as well as abolitionism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Woodward Pierce</span> Only woman to sign the Declaration of Sentiments and live to see the 19th Amendment passed

Charlotte Woodward Pierce was the only woman to sign the Declaration of Sentiments at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention and live to see the passing of the 19th Amendment in 1920. She was the only one of the 68 women who signed the Declaration to see the day that women could vote nationwide. On July 19, 1848, 19-year-old Pierce travelled to Seneca Falls with 6 of her closest friends by wagon upon hearing about the Convention. It was not for many years, until 1920 when Pierce was 91 when she was able to witness the first election in which she was eligible to vote.

References

  1. 1 2 "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "First Wave Statue Exhibit - Women's Rights National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)" (PDF). www.nps.gov. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Carter, Diana Louise (July 22, 2005). "Women's rights park turns 25: visitors gather for celebration". Democrat and Chronicle. pp. 1B, 4B . Retrieved April 15, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 4 NPS 1985, p. 1.
  5. 1 2 Coy, Peter (June 23, 1985). "Women's rights landmark to be restored". The Central New Jersey Home News. p. 21. Retrieved April 15, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 "Women's Rights Park Opens Upstate". The New York Times. July 19, 1982. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  7. 1 2 May, Clifford D. (March 31, 1987). "Designs Sought For New Women's Park". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Laws & Policies - Women's Rights National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  9. ↑ "History & Culture - Women's Rights National Historical Park". U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  10. ↑ NPS 1985, pp. 32–36.
  11. 1 2 "Women's rights park to expand". The Ithaca Journal. December 26, 1989. p. 3. Retrieved April 15, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Greenhouse, Linda (August 18, 2006). "A Quiet Place to Start a Revolution". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  13. 1 2 Schuman, Michael (March 18, 1998). "Suffragette City". The Record. p. 45. Retrieved April 15, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Collins, Glenn (November 14, 1999). "For Sale: Shrine to Suffragists; U.S. Covets House of Women's Rights Movement". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  15. ↑ Collins, Glenn (January 6, 2000). "Hunt House, suffrage shrine, sold". The Baltimore Sun. p. 62. Retrieved April 15, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ Theobald, Bill; Tumulty, Brian. "National park maintenance backlog in NY tops $900M". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Backlog of repairs mounts at Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls". WXXI News. March 27, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  18. ↑ "New York Parks Infrastructure Fact Sheet" (PDF). National Park Service. 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  19. ↑ Harris, Rachel Lee (March 8, 2014). "A Finger Lakes Women's History Focus". In Transit Blog. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  20. ↑ Monuments and Historic Places of America. Macmillan Library Reference USA. 2000. ISBN   978-0-02-865374-7.
  21. ↑ "AcreageReports - Land and Water Conservation Fund". U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved April 15, 2023.

Bibliography

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