The National Women’s Hall of Fame: It’s a Place

Upstate New York is no tourist magnet. Unless, of course, the tourist and magnet are of the same pole, but no need to get technical. Regardless, if you ever land here for work (unlikely, as the economy has been sluggish for seven decades) or have a family member who inexplicably decides to settle in Rochester, you can check out this place—the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

 

The Setting

Say Upstate New York and hall of fame, and you might get a few references to baseball, as in the sport whose shrine is in Cooperstown, a relatively nondescript village of 1,794 residents located 145 miles miles northwest of New York City.

But in an equally humble town even farther from the big city lies another hall of fame—the one for women.

The locale is Seneca Falls, nestled in the Finger Lakes region between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes and along the Cayuga-Seneca Canal, a branch of the more famous but equally outdated Erie Canal.

Home to 8,942 residents, Seneca Falls may have served as inspiration for the fictional town of Bedford Falls in the classic film It’s a Wonderful Life. It was also site of the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, the first women’s rights convention and the unofficial birth of the women’s suffrage movement. From there, the tireless work of Upstate New Yorkers (see below) would lead to ratification of the 19th Amendment, the one that gave women the right to vote.

It was only fitting, therefore, that this anonymous town in an anonymous part of the country should remain a focal point for those unfairly relegated to lives of anonymity. As such, in 1969, the National Women’s Hall of Fame was incorporated here. Four years later came the first induction ceremony. In 2020, the hall moved to the historic Seneca Knitting Mill, directly across the canal from Women’s Rights National Historical Park, where the seminal events of 1848 took place.

 

How It Works

Inductees to the National Women’s Hall of Fame are nominated by the general public. Every two years, a panel of national judges selects a small number of nominees for induction based on the enduring impact of the nominees’ contributions to society.

If you’re so inclined, here is a link to the nomination form.

It should be noted that nominees must be (or have been) citizens of the US, either by birth or naturalization.

As of 2023, over 300 women have been inducted.

Check out the complete list.

 

A Few Favorites

As above, the hall is open to all American women, but in keeping with the Upstate New York theme, here are a few locals who’ve made the cut.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902)

Born in Johnstown, NY, Stanton organized the aforementioned Seneca Falls Convention and later teamed up with Susan B. Anthony to spearhead the women’s suffrage movement.

Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906)

A transplant to Rochester, NY—where her home is a museum and her grave a popular attraction on Election Day—Anthony devoted her life to moving the US out of the dark ages.

Harriet Tubman (1822-1913)

Born into slavery in Maryland, Tubman escaped to freedom and became a central figure in the Underground Railroad. She eventually settled in Auburn, NY—still home to several landmarks in her honor—and helped with the women’s suffrage campaign.

Lucille Ball (1911-1989)

Born in Jamestown, NY, Ball gave us I Love Lucy. Enough said.

Louise Slaughter (1929-2018)

A microbiologist turned politician, Slaughter represented the Rochester region in the US House of Representatives for over three decades, advocating for medical research, antibiotic stewardship, the prevention of discrimination based on genetic test results, and women’s rights.

 

Anyway, go visit! (There are wineries nearby.)