During Women’s History Month and beyond, some community organizations are working hard to preserve the history of the “birthplace of women’s rights.”
Seneca Falls, a village in the northern Finger Lakes region, is known as the birthplace of national women’s rights and is the location of the first-ever Women’s Rights Convention, held in 1848. For Don Stanko, park ranger at the National Women’s Rights Historical Park in downtown Seneca Falls, Women’s History Month gives the park a chance to dig deeper.
“I always like to think of Women’s History Month as that opportunity for us to refocus for a minute, take a minute to remind us of those things that we know but we just need to be reminded every so often,” Stanko said. “Revisit those ideas and kind of revisit those thoughts and just take those moments to reflect on those things.”
The Women’s Rights Historical Park consists of multiple locations including the site of the first women's rights convention, the Wesleyan Chapel, as well as the former residences of some of the convention’s organizers like Elizabeth Cady Stanton. But Stanko said the park’s story goes beyond just the buildings.
“More important than the building — the building is important, it’s a great spot, people can reconnect here, it’s a great spot to do that — but more important, of course, is the story and the people who were here.”
The National Women’s Rights Historical Park and other community locations like the National Women’s Hall of Fame and the Seneca Falls Historical Society help to tell that story.
Nellie Ludemann, executive director at the Seneca Falls Historical Society loves her job because of the rich, vibrant history in the community. She helps to answer one of the bigger questions: why was Seneca Falls the place where the national women’s rights movement was born?
“This whole area, the Finger Lakes, was a big hub of activism, especially the abolitionist movement, temperance a bit too,” Ludemann said. “So all of these women were very active in freedom rights, and right to speak and that sort of thing. So why Seneca Falls? That’s where they lived.”
Ludemann said Seneca Falls was also just a great location. “Seneca Falls is a great area to do it because of the fact that so many people can come in, you can take the canal, you can take the railroad, you can take the plank road, all of these different avenues to get here,” Ludemann said. “So I think it happened here just because this is where they lived but it’s also just an ideal space to have it.”
The historical society’s 23-room, 1850s, Victorian mansion is home to thousands of community artifacts, including some that help to tell the story of American women’s rights.
Letters written by women’s rights leaders and advocates, the Lily papers - copies of a Seneca Falls, women-owned and operated newspaper from the mid-1800s and the camera used by one of Susan B. Anthony’s photographers represent only a fraction of the historical society’s artifacts.
Don Stanko, park ranger at the Women’s Rights Historical Park said the stories, locations and artifacts all help to tell the story of Seneca Falls and the first women’s rights convention — which in turn, help to inspire the next generation.
“What’s beautiful about this sight is that you get to see what people are capable of and what people can do and if they are motivated and they're dedicated and we can change the story,” Stanko said. “Sometimes it takes a long time but we can do those things and it doesn’t matter what specific political thing, it can be changed.”
