Seneca County > Seneca Falls
Decades ago, a Seneca Falls resident named Mary Curry would erect a card table on the main street every year on the anniversary of the first Women’s Rights Convention. She handed out leaflets and talked to passersby about women’s suffrage. The town fathers scoffed at her. Today the Women’s Rights National Historical Park and the National Women’s Hall of Fame are two of the biggest enterprises in the community.
The hall has won several grants in recent years to rehab the historic 1844 Seneca Knitting Mill as the Center for Great Women.
A campus on the east side of Seneca Falls has known a succession of identities. The former site of Eisenhower College, which closed in 1982, it became the New York Chiropractic College and then the Northeast College of Health Sciences.
The community, believed to be the inspiration for Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life,” hosts a museum and annual festival dedicated to the film.
The Huntington Apartments project, a $24 million transformation of the historic 19th-Century Huntington Building, was completed in 2025. The development is part of Seneca Falls’ Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) and encompasses 53 affordable apartments, including 27 with supportive services for veterans in need of housing.
School districts: Seneca Falls Central School District
Libraries: Seneca Falls Library
Emergency services: Seneca Falls Fire Department
Fraternal organizations: American Legion, Elks, Kiwanis, Masons, VFW
State parks: Cayuga Lake State Park
Not-for-profit cemeteries: Canoga Cemetery, Ira Union Cemetery, Ridge Road Cemetery, Rural Cemetery of Fayette, Springbrook Cemetery
Change agents:
Grants to local organizations have funded renovation of the Seneca Knitting Mill for the National Women’s Hall of Fame, virtual school project on the women’s suffrage centennial, and other initiatives.
Recent grants:
1st Prestn Church of Seneca Falls
First Pres Ch Sen F Fs - Dallas, TX - $6,722 (2023)
Creative Choices Child Care Center
United Way of Seneca County - Waterloo, NY - $7,000 (2023)
National Women's Hall of Fame
Louis and Anne Abrons Foundation - Wilmington, DE - $25,000 (2023)
National Women's Hall of Fame
Natembea Foundation - Wilmington, DE - $5,000 (2023)
Northeast College of Health Sciences
Archie S Wingfield Jr Charitable Trust - Vero Beach, FL - $5,000 (2023)
Northeast College of Health Sciences
Eagan Family Foundation - Park Ridge, NJ - $7,000 (2023)
Northeast College of Health Sciences
Snayberger Memorial Foundation (Pf) - Amherst, NY - $3,227 (2023)
Pathway Home of the Finger Lakes
Bonafiglia Foundation - Seneca Falls, NY - $2,500 (2023)
Seneca County Children's Committee
United Way of Seneca County - Waterloo, NY - $9,000 (2023)
Seneca Falls
NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets - Albany, NY - $180,890 (2023)
Seneca Falls
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation - Albany, NY - $60,000 (2024)
Seneca Falls
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation - Albany, NY - $5,000,000 (2023)
Seneca Falls
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation - Albany, NY - $30,000 (2023)
Seneca Falls Backpack Program
Bonafiglia Foundation - Seneca Falls, NY - $1,700 (2023)
Seneca Falls Central School District
Bonafiglia Foundation - Seneca Falls, NY - $2,533 (2023)
Seneca Falls Community Band
Bonafiglia Foundation - Seneca Falls, NY - $5,000 (2023)
Seneca Falls Development Corporation
Regional Economic Development Councils - Albany, NY - $475,000 (2023)
Seneca Falls Historical Society
Bonafiglia Foundation - Seneca Falls, NY - $1,000 (2023)
Seneca Falls Historical Society
Nelson B Delavan Foundation - Chicago, IL - $1,500 (2023)
Seneca Falls It's A Wonderful Life
Bonafiglia Foundation - Seneca Falls, NY - $10,000 (2023)
Seneca Falls It's A Wonderful Life
Bonafiglia Foundation - Seneca Falls, NY - $3,000 (2023)
Seneca Falls It's A Wonderful Life
Nelson B Delavan Foundation - Chicago, IL - $5,000 (2023)
Seneca Falls Library
Bonafiglia Foundation - Seneca Falls, NY - $15,000 (2023)
Seneca Falls Library
Fred L. Emerson Foundation - Auburn, NY - $5,000 (2023)
Seneca Falls Library
Nelson B Delavan Foundation - Chicago, IL - $5,000 (2023)
Seneca Falls Library
New York Department of Education - , - $227,813 (2023)
Seneca Falls Parks & Recreation Department
Bonafiglia Foundation - Seneca Falls, NY - $25,613 (2023)
Seneca Falls Performing Arts Center
Bonafiglia Foundation - Seneca Falls, NY - $25,000 (2023)
Seneca Falls Police Department
NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services - Albany, NY - $101,658 (2024)
Seneca Falls Rotary Service Foundation
Bonafiglia Foundation - Seneca Falls, NY - $1,000 (2023)
Seneca Falls Rotary Service Foundation
Nelson B Delavan Foundation - Chicago, IL - $2,500 (2023)
Seneca Museum of Waterways and Industry
Bonafiglia Foundation - Seneca Falls, NY - $2,500 (2023)
Seneca Museum of Waterways and Industry
Nelson B Delavan Foundation - Chicago, IL - $5,000 (2023)
Town of Seneca Falls
Community Development Block Grant - Albany, NY - $210,000 (2023)
Town of Seneca Falls
Regional Economic Development Councils - Albany, NY - $572,046 (2024)
Tyre Reformed Church
Tyre Reformed Ch Uw Cm - Dallas, TX - $14,382 (2024)
Tyre Reformed Church
Tyre Reformed Church Trust - Dallas, TX - $13,317 (2023)
Women's Right to Run 19K
Bonafiglia Foundation - Seneca Falls, NY - $2,500 (2023)
Largest nonprofits in Seneca Falls (by assets) include:
Northeast College of Health Sciences
Weaverland Financial Aid of New York
National Womens Hall of Fame
Seneca Falls Library
Bonafiglia Foundation
Seneca Falls Historical Society
Seneca Falls Golf Association
Seneca Falls Education Foundation
Pathway Home of the Finger Lakes
Seneca Housing
Kirk-Casey Post of Seneca Falls No 366 Dept of NY American Legion
Seneca Falls Its a Wonderful Life Museum & Archives
Ray of Hope Mentoring
Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks of the USA
Canoga Sportsman Club
Seneca Falls Performing Arts Center
Friends of the Montezuma Wetlands Complex
Habitat for Humanity International
Seneca Museum of Waterways and Industry
Child Development & Parent Resource Center
BPCA NYS
United Steelworkers
Seneca Falls Rotary Service Foundation
Lt Cyrus Garnsey III VFW Post 1323