Seneca Falls: Gal Pals and Me

Seneca Falls – here we come and I could hardly wait. When discussing our plans for this summer and we decided to fully explore the NY Canal System, I informed Captain Mark that a stop in Seneca Falls was vital to this Deck Monkey’s continued nautical servitude. As an Anthro major and a Women’s Studies minor, I knew the importance of both the town site of Seneca Falls, NY and its women as movers and shakers in the birth of the women’s movement within the United States. I wanted to see firsthand and walk the same streets as my feminist heroes. In the above photo I am hanging out with Amelia Bloomer as she introduces Susan B Anthony to Elizabeth Cady Stanton on the street in Seneca Falls.

Even the rain did not daunt my feminist zeal as we headed out early from Baldwinsville. In order to reach Seneca Falls we needed to exit off the main Erie Canal route into the off-shoot Cayuga-Seneca Canal which allows access to the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. This meant 3 locks. Did I mention that it was raining? All day long! Immediately before reaching Seneca Falls are two consecutive locks Nos. 2 and 3. AND to make matters worse, there were these creatures living on the lock walls that spit at me!! It was only in these lock walls that we saw these nasty little spitting varmints. Thank goodness I was wearing my foul weather gear…



Almost like magic as we exited the last lock and rounded the bend, the sun came out and the town of Seneca Falls lay before us. We easily found a spot along the City Dock Wall and settled in for what would be several days of serious touristy exploration.

Even though it had rained, the humidity was thick and the temperature was in the 90’s. Normally this would put a damper on the amount of walking around that I could do in the heat however, the City Dock is located so conveniently to all of the historical sites, restaurants and grocery shopping that we were able to make short bursts of exploration and then retreat to the boat for cool comfort.

Due to its location along the Seneca River and the abundance of local natural resources, Seneca Falls quickly attracted forward thinking entrepreneurs and the necessary immigrant workers to man the mills that took advantage of the falls to provide water power for the working flour and woolen mills. Very quickly distilleries, tanneries, saw mills and general merchants settled along the river making Seneca Falls a vital industrial town in upstate New York by the mid-1800s.




It is my contention that behind every successful man, there are at least two equally bright, motivated and unsung women. Most often, these two women are HIS mother and HIS wife. Now here is where my theory begins…my thought is that inventive, driven and prosperous men tend to find life partners that are inventive, forwarding-thinking and driven women – something like water seeking its own level. Thus we have the citizens of Seneca Falls, New York in the early to mid part of the 19th century which formed the intellectual and cultural climate that gave birth to the Women’s Movement in 1848.

My personal favorite is Elizabeth Cady Stanton. At their wedding, Elizabeth Cady refused to promise to "obey" her husband in the vows, later writing "I obstinately refused to obey one with whom I supposed I was entering into an equal relation.” Throughout her marriage and eventual widowhood, Stanton took her husband's surname as part of her own, signing herself Elizabeth Cady Stanton or E. Cady Stanton, but she refused to be addressed as Mrs. Henry B. Stanton

Often overlooked but certainly as important are Amelia Bloomer, Lucretia Mott, Mary Ann McClintock and Jane Hunt who with Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the first Women's Rights Convention, held in 1848 at the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel. A "Declaration of Sentiments" was adopted, drafted by Stanton and McClintock which included support for women's suffrage. Frederick Douglass, a former slave and publisher of a Rochester New York abolitionist newspaper, attended the convention. His eloquent support for the women's suffrage resolution was instrumental in its passage.




On a fun side note, the term “bloomers” referring to underwear also came about during this era in Seneca Falls. Even though she did not create the women's clothing reform style known as bloomers, Amelia Jenks Bloomer became associated with it because of her early and strong advocacy.


Created in 1969, The National Women's Hall of Fame is located prominently in the heart of Seneca Falls. The mission of the National Women's Hall of Fame is "to honor in perpetuity those women, citizens of the United States of America, whose contributions to the arts, athletics, business, education, government, the humanities, philanthropy and science, have been the greatest value for the development of their country." We spent an entire afternoon visiting the museum. Even though the museum was undergoing a remodel, the display was easy to follow and the inductees were comprehensive and impressive in their diversity and life accomplishments.

I could not even consider leaving the museum gift shop without purchasing this pin for Wunder Kid Madeline and all of my female cohorts. It seems to capture the spirit of a Deck Monkey…



Seneca Falls also is thought to be the town of inspiration for the Frank Capra movie It’s A Wonderful Life. As we walked around the town, we just knew that any minute Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed were going to round the next corner.




A major change to both the town and C-S Canal occurred in 1915 when the re-structuring and routing of the Seneca River eliminated the “falls” and rapids by flooding a portion of the town. This was done in order to build a pair of locks to replace the three smaller locks making it possible for boat traffic to pass through the village. So today, there are no falls in Seneca Falls…

Hours on the water: 5.5
Nautical miles traveled: 33
Number of bridges to be opened: 0
Number of locks: 3
Next Destination: Watkins Glen, NY
What we are listening to: Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
Lesson for the day: I took great pride in visiting Seneca Falls
Obligatory knitting report: Navy Blue Sweater for WK Madeline