News Release

NPS Convention Days Features Family Programs, History Talks, Community Expo

NPS Photo

News Release Date: July 8, 2025

Contact: Shannon Walsh, [phone]

Women’s Rights National Historical Park has announced its complete slate of programs and activities for Convention Days 2025: Ripples of Reform. This event from July 18-20 commemorates the 1848 women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, as well as this year’s bicentennial celebration of the Erie Canal. 

Among the activities on offer are special presentations by various scholars in the fields of women’s history, Erie Canal history, and Indigenous history. Patrick Stenshorn, from the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor will offer a walking tour to Seneca Falls’ canal locks CS 2&3. Historian Bill Hunt will present “Pump-makers at the Seneca Falls Convention and the Discovery of Greenhouse Gas,” a program looking at three notable signers of the Declaration of Sentiments. Authors and historians Susan Goodier and Karen Pastorello will offer a panel discussion on connections between the Erie Canal and the women’s suffrage movement. Historian Terry C. Abrams will present “Displacement and Dispossession: The Haudenosaunee and the Erie Canal,” which will examine the impact of the Erie Canal on local Indigenous communities. 

“This Convention Days weekend brings us a unique opportunity to celebrate both the 1848 Women’s Rights Convention and the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal,” said Michelle Riter, acting Interpretation Manager at Women’s Rights National Historical Park. “We  are excited to host programs that explore the revolutionary ideas that the canal spread throughout New York State.” 

This family-friendly weekend will include activities for all ages: the Seneca Falls Historical Society will offer outdoor Victorian games at select times throughout the weekend, and living history appearances by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Frederick Douglass will connect visitors with the spirit of the 1848 women’s rights convention. 

Special exhibits and ongoing programming in the park Visitor Center will allow visitors a chance to beat the heat. Come see Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s songbook, on exhibit for the first time, or learn about the Erie Canal with the temporary exhibit “Enterprising Waters,” courtesy of the New York State Museum. Local historical and community organizations will participate in a Community Expo, including the Seneca Falls Historical Society, the Matilda Joslyn Gage Center, the Erie Canal Museum, the Friends of Women’s Rights National Historical Park, the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, and the 1816 Farmington Quaker Meetinghouse Museum. 

For more information and a complete schedule with dates and times, visit www.nps.gov/wori/planyourvisit/convention-days-2025