The Finger Lakes Region & Central New York State by Frommer's ShortCuts

Author:Frommer's ShortCuts
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2011-11-29T00:00:00+00:00

Seneca Falls & Northern Cayuga Lake ★★

10 miles E of Geneva; 48 miles E of Syracuse; 42 miles N of Ithaca

Perched on the falls of the Seneca River and a section of the legendary Erie Canal, and cradled between the two largest of the Finger Lakes, Seneca Falls was such a quintessential American small town that Frank Capra apparently used it as the model for Bedford Falls in his classic movie It’s a Wonderful Life. Yet the town is more significantly known for its rabble-rousing past. In the mid–19th century, Seneca Falls was home to political activists who fought for women’s suffrage and civil rights for African Americans. The town is considered the birthplace of women’s rights, and some women enamored of that history have moved to Seneca Falls to make it their home.

Cayuga Lake is the longest of the Finger Lakes, 42 miles from end to end.

Essentials

Getting There

By Car Seneca Falls is south of I-90 along Route 414 and equidistant on Routes 5 and 20 between Geneva and Auburn.

Visitor Information Seneca Falls Heritage Area Visitor Center, 89 Fall St. ( 315/568-2703; www.senecafalls.com), is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm and Sunday from noon to 4pm. Cayuga County Office of Tourism, 131 Genesee St., Auburn ( 800/499-9615 or 315/255-1658; www.tourcayuga.com), is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, Saturday 9am to 2pm.

Exploring Seneca Falls

The first Women’s Rights Convention, the foundation for the modern struggle for civil rights, was held at the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Seneca Falls in 1848. The Women’s Rights National Historical Park ★★ , 136 Fall St. ( 315/568-2991; www.nps.gov/wori), which is run by the National Park Service, commemorates the struggle initiated by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, and others (the abolitionist and women’s rights movements were linked from early on); such happenings at Seneca Falls expanded the definition of liberty in the United States. The extant remains of the original chapel, where 300 people gathered on July 19, 1848, and the landmark “Declaration of Sentiments” was drafted, is next to a museum that’s jampacked with information about women’s and civil rights history. The museum does an excellent job raising issues to think about for visitors of both genders and all ages, which is why it’s also a great place for kids, who can also be made “Junior Rangers.” The museum is open daily from 9am to 5pm; admission is free.

Seneca Falls has, quite understandably, become a place of pilgrimage for people with a specific interest in women’s and civil rights. A host of related sights, including the Elizabeth Cady Stanton House, 32 Washington St. ( 315/568-2991; www.nps.gov/wori/historyculture/elizabeth-cady-stanton.htm; guided tours $1; sign up at Park Visitor Center), are located in and around Seneca Falls; pick up the booklet Women’s Rights Trail, at the museum gift shop. Down the street from the Historical Park is the National Women’s Hall of Fame, 76 Fall St. ( 315/568-8060; www.greatwomen.org), which is a good place to see, in name and achievement, how far women have come since the days of that legendary convention.

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