From Suffragist Shrine to Reformer’s Home: The Evolving Interpretation of the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House

Abstract

In 1945, a women’s organization—Susan B. Anthony Memorial Incorporated (SBAM)—purchased and restored Susan B. Anthony’s former home in Rochester, New York. Contemporary historic house preservation practices, the founder’s political motives, and the desire to shape and celebrate a women’s history centered on women’s suffrage influenced the house’s restoration. The initial interpretation idolized Anthony, presented her as a single-issue reformer, and overlooked the lives of other household members and the complexities of the women’s rights movement. In the past seventy-five years, the house evolved from a shrine to Anthony and the suffrage movement to interpreting Anthony as a reformer supported by her family. Today, the house interprets Anthony’s lived experiences and relationships and the lives of other household members. The house humanizes Anthony by interpreting her multifaceted reform work. Finally, the house extends past enshrining the women’s suffrage movement, broadening its definition of the women’s rights movement, and connecting historic civil rights battles to present-day struggles.