Women's Rights National Historical Park

10/14/2026

PARK UPDATE: The power is restored and we look forward to welcoming folks to the Park! We have "Revolutionary Roots" talks at 11am and 3pm in the Wesleyan Chapel. The Visitor Center is open until 4pm today.

10/14/2026

PARK ALERT: Due to a power outage, Women's Rights National Historical Park will have a delayed opening on Wednesday, October 14. Expected reopening by 11am. Please watch the park website and social media for updates. Thank you.

10/09/2026

Welcome Fall by visiting Women's Rights National Historical Park! 🍂

Whether you're visiting for the first time or returning for another adventure, stop by the Visitor Center to pick up a guided activity board to help you make the most of your site visit! To complete the activity board, you'll get to choose from options like attending a ranger program; watching the park film; exploring the second floor or outdoor exhibits; visiting the historic Wesleyan Chapel or Elizabeth Cady Stanton House; and so much more. How many squares can you cross-off?

✅ Try for at least five-in-row to win a special prize! (Collect your prize at the Information Desk on Saturdays in October & November, 1 prize per completed activity board).

Visit the park website for Fall operating hours: https://www.nps.gov/wori/planyourvisit/hours.htm

[Image: two park rangers and two visitors hold up completed activity boards and a basket of prizes.]

10/05/2026

If you are visiting on Tuesday, October 6, please note that there will not be an 11am Ranger Talk. Our "Revolutionary Roots" Ranger Talk will be at 3pm only.

09/29/2026

At the time of the Seneca Falls convention in 1848, educational opportunities were limited, especially for women and girls. Public schools were uncommon. Most schools charged tuition, and many did not accept female students.

Convention participant Frederick Douglass encountered obstacles while trying to secure an education for his daughter, Rosetta. In addition to limited opportunities for female students generally, the Douglass family also faced racial discrimination.

In the fall of 1848, nine-year-old Rosetta enrolled in the Seward Female Seminary in Rochester, NY. The father of one of her classmates—Horatio G. Warner, the editor of the Rochester Courier—protested her enrollment. Afraid of controversy, Seward Seminary’s principal dismissed Rosetta from the school.

Frederick Douglass found another school for Rosetta. She later attended the prestigious Oberlin College Preparatory School, eventually becoming a teacher herself.

Rosetta’s educational experience influenced Frederick Douglass’s view of women’s rights. At a women's rights convention in 1853, Douglass pointed out that “as teachers women get one-fourth the pay men do, while a girl's tuition is the same as a boy's.”

[Images: Rosetta Douglass Sprague via Frederick Douglass National Historical Site; Seward Female Seminary via Rochester Public Library; Oberlin College chapel and Tappan Hall (depicted in ca. 1860 photo) via Oberlin College Archives; Frederick Douglass’s letter to Horatio G. Warner via the Library of Congress.]

09/22/2026

Teaching was one of the few jobs open to women in the nineteenth century. Being a teacher offered women the ability to support themselves and to gain professional experience. By teaching, women could achieve independence and a position of respect and authority.

Many women’s rights campaigners were former teachers, including two Seneca Falls convention organizers: sisters Lucretia Coffin Mott and Martha Coffin Wright.

Lucretia attended Nine Partners School in Millbrook, NY, as a student. After graduating, she worked there as a teacher. Martha attended Westtown School in West Chester, PA. As an adult, she taught at Brier Cliff School in Aurora, NY.

[Images: Lucretia Coffin Mott via Library of Congress. Martha Coffin Wright via the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. Nine Partners School (depicted in a woodcut after an 1820 drawing by Alexander H. Coffin) via Oakwood Friends School. Westtown School (depicted in an 1858 drawing by John Collins) via the Library Company of Philadelphia.]

09/15/2026

School is back in session, and this month our posts will focus on education! More specifically, we will share how progress was made towards greater equity and opportunity in education for women. One of the only accessible professions for women at the time of the Seneca Falls convention was teaching, yet women were barred from attending colleges and universities for their own education. Some women, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, attended boys’ schools or were tutored to learn subjects uncommon for girls, but many women did not have the same opportunity for education as men did.

When Elizabeth Cady Stanton read the Declaration of Sentiments aloud at the 1848 convention in Seneca Falls, one of her calls for change included the matter that, “He has denied her the facilities for obtaining a thorough education, all colleges being closed against her.” Two weeks later, at the women’s rights convention in Rochester, the accepted resolutions included “that in persevering and independent course of Miss Blackwell,” who was the first woman to become a licensed physician after graduating from medical school, “we see a harbinger of the day when woman shall stand forth ‘redeemed and disenthralled,’ and perform those important duties which are so truly within her sphere.” Equal access to education was part of the earliest conversations about women’s rights and remained a prominent goal for women across the country in the fight for those rights.

[Images of Elizabeth Blackwell and the Declaration of Sentiments exhibit at Women's Rights NHP. Courtesy of Library of Congress.]

09/03/2026

ATTENTION:
Site Closure: Thursday, September 3, 2026

The park is closed today (Thursday, September 3, 2026) due to storm damage and travel restrictions in Seneca County.

08/19/2026

As part of Equality Weekend (August 21-23), celebrate equality, women’s rights, and the transformative power of music in the historic Wesleyan Chapel with a free performance by the Terra String Quartet, made possible through the Skaneateles Festival Outreach Program, at 2pm on Friday, August 21, 2026.

About the Terra String Quartet: Winners of the 2025 Naumburg Chamber Music Competition and recent prizewinners at the 2025 Bordeaux and Wigmore Hall International Quartet Competitions, the Terra String Quartet is a vibrant young international ensemble based in New York City. They are composed of graduates of The Juilliard School, The New England Conservatory, Harvard University, and the Curtis Institute of Music. Known for their sincere storytelling, commitment to artistic excellence, and versatile approach to repertoire, TSQ strives to foster conversation and genuine human connection through their performances and pedagogy. The quartet includes: Harriet Langley, violin I; Amelia Dietrich, violin II; Chih-Ta Chen, viola; Audrey Chen, cello.

For more information about the Terra String Quartet and the Skaneateles Festival Outreach Event hosted at Women's Rights NHP, please visit the webpage: https://skanfest.org/event/outreach-event-terra-string-quartet-at-the-wesleyan-chappel/

[Image: Event graphic provided by Skaneateles Festival, including a picture of the Terra String Quartet members]

08/17/2026

We are excited to be a part of Homeschool Days 2026! Registration is open now through the National Women's Hall of Fame. Please see the link below to register. See you September 9 or 10!

Registration is open for Seneca Falls Homeschool Days!

Students will step beyond the textbook for a day of hands-on learning at four of Seneca Falls’ museums and historic sites, exploring the people, places, and stories that helped shape our nation.

Registration closes September 1, but spots fill quickly. Reserve your student’s place today: bit.ly/3TjLt6Q