Women's Rights National Historical Park

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, The towns also held the homes of several suffragists in the 19th century, including Stanton. 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. == Early history ==

Establishment Efforts to establish a National Park in Seneca Falls and Waterloo began in the late 20th century. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a senator from New York, was a supporter of the park and submitted legislation to Congress suggesting its foundation. On December 28, 1980, United States Congress formally authorized creation of a "Women's Rights National Historical Park", with the passage of . 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. The legislation established the park with a mission to: 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. The $11,000 Stanton House purchase was funded by Alan Alda, undertaken by the Elizabeth Cady Stanton foundation, and donated to the park. In 1989 they purchased the rest of the block containing the Wesleyan Church, a parcel. The visitor center was opened in July 1993, near the Church. By 1999, the park held of land. 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. == 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. 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. 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. In 2022, there were an estimated $11 million needed repairs. As of 2014, the park offered tours from rangers, and self-guided tours. In addition to its visitor center, the park has an education and cultural center housing the Suffrage Press Printshop. The park's holdings are not in one continuous place, but are instead spread out over . == 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. == Superintendents ==

• Judy Hart - 1982-1989 • Linda Canzanelli - 1989-1994 • Joanne Hanley - 1994-1997   • Josie Fernandez -1998-2004 • Tina Orcutt's - 2004-2011 • Tammy Duchesne- 2011 - 2013 • Noemi "Ami" Ghazala – 2013 - 2019 • Andrea (Andie) DeKoter – 2019 • Ahna Wilson – 2021 to current ==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: • Susan B. Anthony House in Rochester • Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester • Antoinette Louisa Brown Blackwell Childhood Home in Henrietta • M'Clintock House in Waterloo • The Women's Rights National Historical Park itself ==See also==