Women’s Rights National Historical Park

1848

In July 1848 a convention met in a Seneca Falls chapel

The park recognizes the site of the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention. It was held in the Wesleyan Chapel of the town of Seneca Falls and spanned two days, July 19 and 20. Over 300 people attended, and many signed the Declaration of Sentiments.

Who planned it

Quaker women and Elizabeth Cady Stanton planned it during a visit

Female Quakers local to the area organized the meeting along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who was not a Quaker. They planned it during a visit by Lucretia Mott of Philadelphia. Mott was famous for her oratorical ability, which was rare for non-Quaker women in an era when women were often not allowed to speak in public.

The vote

Frederick Douglass argued for the vote, and the resolution stayed

The meeting had six sessions. A heated debate sprang up over women's right to vote, and many, including Mott, urged removing it. Frederick Douglass, the convention's sole African American attendee, argued eloquently for its inclusion, and the suffrage resolution was retained. Exactly 100 of approximately 300 attendees signed the document, mostly women.

100signers among about 300 attendees

1980

By 1980 the chapel held a laundromat, a car garage and apartments

By 1980 the Methodist church had fallen into disrepair. Portions had been converted into a laundromat, a car garage, and apartments. Congress authorized the park on December 28, 1980. When the Park Service weighed how to rebuild the church, only two walls of it and 75% of its roof remained.

Stanton House

Alan Alda funded the Stanton House purchase, and 3,000 came in 1982

The Elizabeth Cady Stanton foundation bought the Stanton House, funded by Alan Alda, and donated it to the park. The park was dedicated in July 1982 before 3,000 people, with Alda as keynote speaker. A 1985 profile called the house's restoration the "most extreme historical restoration ever undertaken by the NPS."