Where to Celebrate Women’s Rights This Year

Trending To commemorate the centennial of the ratification for the women’s vote, new tours and exhibitions can be found across the country. Congress granted women the right to vote on June 4, 1919, a bittersweet moment for many who had fought for equality for decades. To commemorate the centennial of the ratification in 1920, enshrined in the 19th amendment, new tours and exhibitions can be found across the country. “There’s been a huge interest in the centennial and voting rights,” said Deborah Hughes, president of the National Susan B.

Anthony Museum and House in Rochester, N. Y. This national landmark, where Anthony was arrested for voting as a woman before that activity became legal, receives over 13,000 visitors each year. The $15 daily admission for adults includes a tour, while “Votercade 2020,” a free series of daylong events with artistic and philosophical discussions, runs until Oct 3.

In Seneca Falls, N. Y. , well-known as the official birthplace of women’s rights, a new self-guided tour, Celebrate 100, suggests places to visit for those interested in the topic. Stops include Wesleyan Chapel (where the first convention was held in 1848), the National Women’s Hall of Fame in the rehabilitated Seneca Knitting Mill (opening this summer,) and the home of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, chief organizer of the convention.

In Sherwood, N. Y. , The Opendore Project, a restored Victorian dwelling that has witnessed abolitionist and suffrage activities, opens this year near the Howland Stone Store Museum. It has one of the most well-preserved collections of women’s suffrage posters in the country.

Some operators have started to add relevant programming to the area in light of the centennial. JoAnn Bell of Road Scholar, a nonprofit educational travel organization, said that four new women’s suffrage trips have been added this year: Two are sold-out. “A lot of boomers have been interested in women’s rights,” she said. Each six-day trip combines a visit to upstate New York with classroom education and lectures (from $1,499 per person).

Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan — the first to ratify the 19th amendment — have created exhibitions highlighting local heroines. “All these states had a history with women’s rights; the race to get to Washington was a nationwide event,” said Christian Overland, who oversees the Wisconsin Historical Museum in Madison, Wis. An exhibition, “We Stand on Their Shoulders” opens this month and will run through the end of the year.