Park Remembers Two Prominent Citizens with Special Programs

Date: November 1, 2006
Contact: Lee Werst, 315.568.5302
Contact: Vivien Rose, 315.568.0007

Seneca Falls – Women’s Rights National Historical Park Superintendent Tina Orcutt announced today that the park will be offering a special program to celebrate the birthday of Elizabeth Cady Stanton on November 12, 2006 at 11:00 AM and again at 1:00 PM in the visitor center at 136 Fall Street, Seneca Falls. “Women’s Rights National Historical Park is proud to offer this special program on Elizabeth Cady Stanton on her 191st birthday,” said Orcutt.

Park Ranger David Malone will present an illustrated talk titled “Marriage to Antislavery: Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s First Reform Movement” focusing on Stanton’s early life as a birthday tribute.

“Elizabeth Cady Stanton is renowned for her work in the women’s rights movement, and her contributions to the First Women’s Rights Convention. I am interested in uncovering her life’s journey and discovering where and how she learned to become a successful reformer,” said Malone. The program will be presented in the park visitor center’s Guntzel Theater and last approximately 30 minutes. No admission will be charged. For more information contact the park visitor center at 315-568-0024.

Later in the day another important figure of area history will be remembered. Richard P. Hunt, Waterloo merchant, developer, businessman and reformer, died November 7, 1856 at the age of 59, attended by his brother-in-law, Dr. George P. Truman. Truman’s letters home to his wife, Catherine Master Hunt, confirm that the home was on the Underground Railroad and provide intimate details about the final illness and death of this leading Waterloo citizen.

In honor of the 150th anniversary of his death, Women's Rights National Historical Park and the Waterloo Library and Historical Society present an exhibit, a tour of the Hunt home, a short presentation on Richard Hunt's life, and excerpts of eulogies offered at his funeral. The event takes place at the Hunt House, 401 E. Main Street, Waterloo, NY, November 12, 2006, from 2 to 4 PM.

Recent research for this program formed the backbone of a nomination for the Hunt House to the National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, a national listing of Underground Railroad sites. Formal announcement of this designation and a reception follows the public program.

For more information on the Richard P. Hunt event contact Vivien Rose, Women's Rights National Historical Park, 568-0007, or Jim Hughes, Waterloo Historical Society, 539-0533.