New York was one of the first states in the country to pass legislation giving women the right to vote 1917, three years before the 19th amendment was passed.
Deborah Hughes is the executive director of the Susan B Anthony house and says the centennial is not only exciting because of the state’s history, but also because of its local ties.
"Rochester has such a fascinating history related to women’s suffrage because this was really the home and headquarters for the National American Women’s Suffrage Association when Susan B Anthony was the president."
This summer at the Central Library of Rochester there will be an exhibit titled "Because of Women Like Her," a collaboration between a number of partners including the city and area museums and colleges hoping to draw people into both the history and the contemporary application of state suffrage history.
The Susan B Anthony House is also sponsoring VoteTilla, a three boat, five day "navigational experience" celebrating the women’s suffrage movement.
It will depart from Seneca Falls on July 17th and arrive in Rochester July 21st, docking in several towns and villages along the route, engaging in historical reenactments, programs and lectures.
The Susan B Anthony House is sponsoring the trip. Hughes says it is also symbolic because Susan B Anthony and her parents moved to Rochester in the 1840s on a canal boat.
This year also marks the beginning of bicentennial of the Erie Canal which will be celebrated from 2017 to 2025, commemorating the 8 years it took to build and open the canal.
An annual birthday luncheon for Susan B Anthony will actually fall on her birthday this year, which is February 15th.
And as part of their weekly lecture series, the Susan B Anthony house will kick off the year on January 23rd with Rochester City Historian Christine Ridarsky discussing the centennial.