Women's Rights NHP celebrates and commemorates the First Women's Rights Convention, as well as the people who fought for the freedoms women enjoy today.
Seneca Falls, New York, is best known for its associations with the beginning of the women's rights movement in the United States - more than any other site in the country. Seneca Falls was the location of the first Women’s Rights Convention, held over two days in July 1848. More than 300 women and men attended the convention which marked the beginning of the organized women's rights movement. The "Declaration of Sentiments," adopted during the convention and signed by 100 attendees, provided the agenda for subsequent women's rights activity.
Women's Rights National Historical Park was created by Congress in 1980 to preserve and interpret the nationally significant historical and cultural sites and structures associated with the struggle for equal rights for women.
The park consists of several buildings in Seneca Falls and nearby Waterloo, New York including the Hunt Home in Waterloo where the convention was planned; the M'Clintock Home in Waterloo where the Declaration of Sentiments was written; the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Seneca Falls where the convention was held; and the home of Elizabeth Cady Stanton in Seneca Falls.
To preserve and interpret for the education, inspiration and benefit of present and future generations, the nationally significant historical and cultural sites, structures, and events associated with the struggle for equal rights for women, and to cooperate with national, state, and local entities to preserve the character and historic setting of such sites, structures and events.
