M'Clintock House

Visit the home of radical Quakers, and the birthplace of the Declaration of Sentiments.

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

14 East Williams St, Waterloo, NY 13165

Significance:

Home of Mary Ann and Thomas M'Clintock, organizers of the 1848 women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, and Underground Railroad operatives.

Designation:

National Historical Park, National Register of Historic Places, National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom

Amenities

16 listed

Accessible Rooms, Accessible Sites, Audio Description, Benches/Seating, Cellular Signal, First Aid Kit Available, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Information, Information - Maps Available, Information Kiosk/Bulletin Board, Parking - Auto, Parking - Bus/RV, Restroom, Restroom - Accessible, Restroom - Family, Wheelchair Accessible

Richard Hunt built the two story red-brick house at 14 East Williams Street in Waterloo, New York in 1836, but never lived there. The M'Clintock family of seven moved into the house in 1836 and were its first tenants. Thomas and Mary Ann, their five children, and others made this their home for 20 years until they returned to Philadelphia. The M'Clintock family ran a local business, led the local Quaker Monthly Meeting, and were involved in almost every reform activity in Western New York. Together they ran a Drugstore and school in the commercial buildings along Main Street, they supported Anti-slavery, Temperance, and raised money to benefit the Irish famine, Hungarian Revolution, and the local poor. The M'Clintocks offered their house to fugitive slaves as a station on the Underground Railroad.

On July 16, 1848, Mary Ann M'Clintock hosted a planning session for the First Women's Rights Convention. At this session she, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and perhaps several others drafted a document they called the Declaration of Sentiments. It was ratified on the second day of the First Woman's Rights Convention and signed by 100 men and women. Modeled on Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence, this document proclaimed that "all men and women are created equal."

Visiting the M'Clintock House

The M'Clintock House is open seasonally during ranger programs. For an updated schedule, visit Operating Hours & Seasons. For a virtual 3D tour of the house, visit M'Clintock House Virtual Tour.

The grounds are open 365 days a year, sunrise to sunset. Pets on-leash are allowed within the yard, and owners must bag and remove all waste. Please be respectful of neighbors, as the house is located in a residential neighborhood.