Syracuse and Upstate New York are home to a rich history of monumental movements & accomplishments that have shaped not only our country's culture but also our constitutional rights. Celebrate the courage & determination of brave women throughout history & discover the lives of those who have called Syracuse home.

 

Matilda Joslyn Gage Center

“There is a word sweeter than Mother, Home, or Heaven; that word is liberty.”

-Matilda Joslyn Gage (1826-1898)

Matilda wore many hats: abolitionist, suffragist, philosopher, author, and activist for Native Americans. She was given the honorary adoption into the Wolf Clan of the Mohawk Nation in 1893. At age 26, she was one of the earliest champions of women’s rights in America, leading the women’s suffrage movement, along with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Matilda also had five children, the youngest of whom married L. Frank Baum in 1882 at their Fayetteville home. Matilda was instrumental in encouraging Baum to write his stories down. Without her encouragement, we might never have learned about The Wizard of Oz.

In the early 2000s, the Gage Foundation converted her suburban home in Fayetteville into a museum where visitors can explore her personal memoirs depicting the horrors of sex trafficking in the U.S. circa 1893 and see the hiding space where Underground Railroad freedom seekers took sanctuary in her home over 150 years ago. You can visit her home from October to May on Friday and Saturday from 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm, or from June to September on Wednesday to Saturday from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm. During January & February, contact them to schedule a tour during their holiday break. 

In 2026, celebrate 200 years of Matilda's legacy with various events, including a birthday party on Saturday, March 21, with a new exhibit by Vanessa Johnson and live music by Collen Kattau.

 

Fayetteville Cemetery

Near the home and museum, Matilda Joslyn Gage was laid to rest in the Fayetteville Cemetery. Here, visitors can pay their respects to the human rights activist, abolitionist, and author. Proceed through the cemetery's main entrance, take the second left, and pay homage to her large headstone located on the right side of the road.

 

Harriet May Mills House

Born in Syracuse in 1857, Harriet May Mills became one of New York State’s most influential voices in the women’s suffrage movement. Among the early women to graduate from Cornell University, she helped build one of the nation’s largest suffrage organizations and traveled extensively advocating for women’s right to vote. Mills worked alongside national leaders such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton and testified before Congress in support of equal voting rights.

After the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, she turned her focus to encouraging women’s active participation in political life. She ran for New York Secretary of State, worked closely with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, and later served on the Electoral College that elected Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933.

Mills also founded the Onondaga County Women’s Democratic Club, the first of its kind in New York State. She died in Syracuse in 1935, remembered as a trailblazer whose impact reached far beyond her hometown.

Her Syracuse home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. While the house is not open to the public and now serves as a residence for women in recovery, visitors can stop by the historic marker outside to reflect on her legacy. During the New York State Fair, the Harriet May Mills Art and Home Center is dedicated to one of Syracuse’s local suffrage leaders

 

Harriet Tubman Home & Harriet Tubman National Historical Park

“I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.”

– Harriet Tubman (1822-1913)

Known as the "Moses of her people", Harriet Tubman fled her life of slavery in Maryland and led approximately 70 enslaved people to freedom via the Underground Railroad.

Tubman later made her home in nearby Auburn, NY, where visitors can explore her residence and the rich history surrounding her extraordinary life.

Also in Auburn is the site of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church with which Tubman was heavily involved, the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged, and her burial site at Fort Hill Cemetery.

 

William H. Seward House

 

William Seward was a fierce abolitionist, U.S. Senator, Secretary of State, and governor of New York State. Seward’s wife, Frances, acted as her husband’s advisor. Both were friends with Harriet and active in the Underground Railroad. They had close relationships with fellow suffragists, contributing to the fight for women's property rights. Visiting this national historic landmark, you'll discover the hidden spaces where freedom seekers took refuge.

 

For more information on women's rights in Onondaga County, the Onondaga Historical Association is a wonderful resource. Browse their website or visit their museum and gift shop in Downtown Syracuse to immerse yourself more in the history of our area.

 

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