Program

National Votes for Women Trail

Subject

Event

Location

89 Liberty Street, Warsaw, NY, USA

Lat/Long

42.7348881, -78.1391567

Grant Recipient

National Collaborative for Women's History Sites

During September 17^th and 18^th of 1891 a suffrage convention was held in Warsaw, New York. Located in the western portion of the state, the convention saw the likes of Susan B. Anthony and Anna Howard Shaw attend as lecturers. At that convention there was a call to form a county-wide organization for Wyoming County, which would be dedicated to women’s suffrage.

And following that call, the Wyoming County Political Equality Club (PEC) was formed. The Wyoming County PEC brought together activists from across the region: including the towns of Warsaw, Perry, Castile, Java, Middlebury, and Gainesville. By connecting reformers from these towns, the Wyoming County PEC was able to drastically increase outreach efforts, while establishing themselves as a coordinated community able to advocate at the local and state level.

Along with the Wyoming County PEC’s use of lectures, literature, and marches, a valuable and continued advocacy effort was the organizations tent at the county fair, which was held in Warsaw. Here, the Wyoming County Political Equality Club connected with the local community amidst the gathering of food vendors, games, rides and farming competitions. By using the fair, the Wyoming PEC further established local ties while increasing visibility.

A key figure in the history of the Wyoming County PEC was Ella Hawley Crossett, who established herself as a leader within the women’s suffrage movement both locally and statewide. After forming the Warsaw Political Equality Club, which she would serve as President of until the ratification of the 19^th Amendment, she helped establish the Wyoming County PEC—which this marker commemorates—and was then elected Vice-President of the New York State Suffrage Association and, eventually, President of the statewide organization. Along with her work for women’s suffrage, Crossett was involved in a number of social movements, including education reform.

This marker commemorates the efforts of the Wyoming County PEC and Ella Hawley Crossett, and it sits at the location of the fairgrounds where they rallied for women’s suffrage from 1892-1912.