Women-Heritage & Rights
Women...
Making History in Rochester, N.Y.!
Discover an enduring legacy forged by
dedication and passion
Travel a path stamped into history by the footsteps of a few daring reformers and eventually thousands of women-reformers and visionaries, leaders and dreamers. Visit sites comprising the proposed National Women's History Trail through Rochester, Seneca Falls, and the Finger Lakes Region of New York. Find inspiration in the stories of these women from the past who dedicated their lives to making a difference for the future. They fought for rights now taken for granted by women in America: the right to vote, to own property, to work and thrive in any profession. They were determined to change the life of every woman in America forever-and, ultimately, they did. Battles begun and carried out in Rochester and nearby Seneca Falls influenced the course of history in this country, especially the hard-fought women's rights movement.
Birthplace of the Women's Rights Movement
It was 1848 when Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Jane Hunt, Mary Ann M'Clintock, Lucretia Mott and Martha Wright organized the first Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls. To an audience of 300 people, these brave women presented their Declaration of Sentiments that began: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal." Soon afterward another Women's Rights Convention was held in Rochester, and a major, new movement was born. Over the years, it would be led by two strong, yet very different women: Susan B. Anthony in Rochester and Elizabeth Cady Stanton from Seneca Falls. According to acclaimed film maker Ken Burns, whose documentary Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony first aired in November 1999, "...these two women created a movement that literally transformed American society by winning for women advances in everything from education to divorce law and the right to own property. They are, in my opinion, the two most important women in American history."
A National Historic Landmark: the Susan B. Anthony House
The Susan B. Anthony House, Rochester's first National Historic Landmark, was home to the legendary suffragist, abolitionist and civil rights leader during her 40 most politically active years. It was from her home on Madison Street that she served as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and where she met with other leaders of the suffrage movement. The rooms of her home were frequently filled with the activity of planning strategies, organizing campaigns, writing speeches, and preparing petitions. From her home in Rochester, Anthony began countless trips throughout the United States, to Great Britain, and to Europe to support local suffrage campaigns and organize the International Council of Women.
Visitors to Anthony's home and the visitor center next door will discover a treasure trove of memorabilia, artifacts, furnishings, and photographs. They can walk through rooms where Anthony met often with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other leaders of the civil rights movement and stand in the parlor where Anthony was arrested in 1872 for the "crime" of voting, but where she also enjoyed talking with the famous orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass over cups of tea. Pausing for a moment in the small, upstairs bedroom where Anthony died in 1906, there is a sadness in knowing she never had an opportunity to cast a legal ballot. It was 14 years after her death that the 19th "Susan B. Anthony" Amendment was finally ratified, and women throughout America were welcome at polling places.
Following the Women's History Trail
The Ontario County Courthouse, site of Susan B. Anthony's famous trial in 1873, is just a short drive from Rochester in Canandaigua, N.Y. Barred from testifying on her own behalf and then found guilty, the judge imposed a $100 fine for her illegal act. Anthony's reaction was clearly stated: "May it please your honor, I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty." And she never did!
Another significant stop is the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, where the first Women's Rights Convention was held. Although only part of the structure remains, it is one of several important sites in Seneca Falls and Waterloo comprising the Women's Rights National Historical Park that also includes the Suffrage Press, the homes of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Mary Ann M'Clintock, and a visitor center.
Also in Seneca Falls is the National Women's Hall of Fame, where exhibits and photographs share the inspiring, and often amazing, stories of hundreds of women in America-women from the past and women alive today-all celebrated here for their impact on our world.
Back in Rochester, the final resting place for many important leaders of the abolitionist and women's rights movements is beautiful Mt. Hope Cemetery, the first Victorian cemetery in America developed by a municipality. There are guided tours and self-guiding maps to help visitors locate the gravesites of Susan B. Anthony, Jean Brooks Greenleaf (former president of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association), Frederick Douglass, and the other famous people buried here.
A fun way to learn about the daily life of women during the 1800s is to spend a day immersed in the past at Genesee Country Village & Museum. At this living-history museum, the third largest in the country, 68 historic structures-from houses and shops to offices and churches plus a variety of authentically maintained gardens-help bring the routine activities and concerns of 19th-century women into focus. Interpreters and craftspeople in period garb provide demonstrations of cooking, weaving, spinning, quilting and other daily activities that were an integral part of life in early-American villages and show how women were the primary caretakers of homes and families. Each May, there is also a special "Salute to Women" event that includes "visits" with amazing women from the 19th century!
For a look at the role of women with a very different history, visit the State Historic Site at Ganondagan, once known as the home of the Mother of Nations by the Haudenosaunee (or Iroquois Confederacy). These Native Americans had a matriarchal society where marriages were arranged by elder females and a new husband moved into the longhouse of his wife. Women held positions of importance and all household property and any tilled fields belonged exclusively to them. Children inherited their clan membership and tribal identification through their mothers, and it was the women's duty to nominate male candidates for the position of chieftain. A great time to visit Ganondagan is during its annual Native American Dance & Music Festival in July, which has been recognized by Native People's Magazine as one of the top 10 festivals of its kind in North America.
One of the most famous "Indians" in the Rochester area was Mary Jemison, the "White Woman of the Genesee." Captured when a young girl of 15, Jemison lived the rest of her life among the tribe that adopted her. She married a Seneca man but gave all of her children English names. Yet when she had an opportunity to leave, she chose to stay with the Native Americans who had become her family. Jemison's gravesite and a striking statue of this unusual woman can be found in Letchworth State Park, along with the cabin she built late in her life while pregnant with her daughter Nancy.
More Women Leading the Way
Rochester was at the heart of other reform movements of the 19th and early 20th centuries as well. Hester Jeffrey lived here for many years, working for political and social equality and organizing educational clubs for young African-American women and girls. Harriet Tubman often stopped at local stations on the Underground Railroad as she led slaves to freedom in Canada. Rochester was in the forefront of women's advancements in the fields of science, engineering, medicine and religion as well.
In the area of higher education, the University of Rochester is home to the Susan B. Anthony Center for Women's Leadership, which offers research opportunities, programs and events. The center's name is a tribute to the well-known suffragist who was instrumental in getting the first female student accepted to this institution of higher learning. In nearby Geneva, N.Y., Hobart and William Smith College has the distinction of granting the first medical degree to a woman in 1849. After graduation, Elizabeth Blackwell went home to England to practice medicine but eventually returned to set up a clinic with her sister in New York City. Clara Barton made history in 1881 when she established the first local Red Cross chapter in Dansville, N.Y., near Rochester.
In the business arena, Martha Matilda Harper definitely made her mark. A contemporary and friend of Susan B. Anthony, Harper was the first woman to join Rochester's Chamber of Commerce after the success of her beauty parlor, opened in 1888. Featuring her "Harper Method" of hair and skin care, this female entrepreneur established factories to manufacture her organic hair products and cosmetics; she was also the first person in America to establish franchises. Often giving poor, working women an opportunity to own a business, Harper eventually had more than 500 shops in operation around the world!
Although Martha Matilda Harper was just one woman breaking stereotypes during the 19th century, she would have been right at home in the 21st century as a member of the Rochester Women's Network. This unique networking organization for women started in Rochester in 1978 and is now the largest organization of its kind in America. At the time of its 25th anniversary, it had already grown to more than 700 members representing hundreds of local employers and women-owned businesses. It is also just one of many successful women's groups in the Rochester area.
Women Having Fun!
Women come to Rochester to have fun, too. In May, the Rochester High Falls International Film Festival focuses on outstanding achievements by women as filmmakers, screenwriters, directors, producers, etc. Begun in 2001, this unique film festival has grown quickly in both prestige and attendance with thousands of people enjoying a wide range of films, lectures, and special events, including the awarding of an annual Susan B. Anthony Failure Is Impossible Award honoring outstanding work by a woman in the world of cinema.
Since 1977, the world's best women golfers have competed in Rochester as well, during the Wegmans LPGA each June at Locust Hill Country Club. Famous for the challenge of its course and the enthusiasm of its golf fans, Rochester's galleries are consistently among the largest on the LPGA tour.
But these are only two of the many, many special activities and events to be found in women-centric Rochester, New York. For visitors coming to learn, to remember, to be inspired, or just to have fun, Rochester should be at the top of every woman's itinerary.
