The Glens Falls Area Suffrage Centennial Committee has announced they will hold a 1900 Suffrage Convention reenactment to commemorate the New York State Woman Suffrage Centennial in Glens Falls on Saturday, October 21 from 1 to 3 pm at the First Baptist Church at 100 Maple Street.

The event will reenact the annual New York State Woman Suffrage Association Convention held at Rockwell House, and Ordway Hall in Glens Falls in the autumn of 1900. Speeches will be presented by historians and reenactors in period attire. National figures to be portrayed at the Convention include Carrie Chapman Catt, Rev. Anna Howard Shaw, and Mary S. Anthony, sister of Susan. Local figures will be portrayed as well, including Addison B. Colvin, Mary Loines, and Susan Bain.

In 1917, New York State became the twelfth, and only eastern state to grant full voting rights to women. 2017 marks the centennial anniversary of this historic event. The Glens Falls Area Suffrage Centennial Committee was formed to plan, and coordinate area events relating to the Suffrage Centennial. Members of the committee include Crandall Public Library, Chapman Historical Museum, Warren County Historical Society, as well as various individuals, and institutions interested in women’s history throughout the region. New members are always welcome.

Also scheduled are vocal music, and entertainment similar to the 1900 event. A one-act play called A Very New Woman by Alice E. Ives (1986) will be performed by local actors, and directed by Kayla Toney.

Suffragists from all over the state attended the 1900 convention. Counties represented were Cayuga, Chatauqua, Erie, Kings, Monroe, Nassau, Niagara, Onondoga, Oneida, Queens, Warren, and Washington. The Committee hopes to have these counties, and more represented at the reenactment.

Attendees are encouraged to come wearing Victorian style dress, but it is not required. This event is free and open to the public. Doors open at 12:30 pm.

For further information, contact Tisha Dolton at (518) 792-6508 x256.

Illustration: YMCA Building in Glens Falls NY, 1900-1915, courtesy Cliff Smith YMCA Postcard Collection.