Tour - Ithaca Women of Note

Ithaca Women of Note

Ithaca, New York 14850, United States

Created By: Ithaca Heritage

Tour Information

The Ithaca Women of Note Tour highlights the lives and accomplishments of prominent women throughout Ithaca's history who advanced the opportunities and participation of women in civic affairs, academia, or the workforce. Striving for the betterment of the human condition, these women became distinguished by their leadership roles in social clubs, national movements, or their profession. From institutional buildings and private residences to public parks, the Women of Note Tour covers a multitude of sites as they relate to each individual. The tour covers the first suburbs of Ithaca, including Cornell Heights and Cayuga Heights, as well as Cornell campus and downtown Ithaca.

As always, please use discretion when approaching private property. We hope you enjoy the tour and look forward to your feedback!

ACCESSIBILITY NOTES ABOUT THE TOUR:

Intended to be a driving tour or an avid biking trail.

Listen to the tour on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tompkinshistory/sets/ithaca-women-of-note

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Research and pictures compiled by The History Center in Tompkins County.

Tour Map

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What You'll See on the Tour

Home of Effie Dallas Morse

Located at 512 Edgewood Place Effie Morse (1861-1935) helped organized and was an early vice-president and president of the Ithaca Women’s Club. Closely involved with children’s education in Ithaca, she organized the first kindergarten ... Read more

Home and Office of Dr. Emma Corinne Galvin

401 West State Street is the residence and office of Dr. Emma Corinne Galvin and Dr. G. Alex Galvin. Dr. Emma Corinne Brown Galvin (1909-1988) was an accomplished academic and teacher from Richmond, Virginia. She received her Bachelor of Ar... Read more

Agda Teoline Swenson Osborn Home

Located at 303 North Aurora Street; former residence of Agda Osborn Known as the Grande Dame of Ithaca and a pillar of the community, Agda Osborn (1897-1996), a 1920 Cornell graduate, helped found five different local organizations that c... Read more

Grave of Sophronia Bucklin in Lake View Cemetery

Sophronia E. Bucklin (1828-1902) served as a nurse for the Union Army during the Civil War. She cared for the wounded after the battle of Gettysburg, demonstrating her dedication, compassion, and selflessness in a time of need. Many patient... Read more

Home of Anna Botsford Comstock

Entomologist, conservationist, publisher, and one of the first female professors at Cornell, Anna Botsford Comstock (1854-1930) is regarded, even during her lifetime, as one of the most influential women of the twentieth century. She helped... Read more

Samantha Nivison's Vision: Cascadilla Hall

Dr. Samantha Nivison (1833-1906) came to Tompkins County after graduating from the Female Medical College in Pennsylvania in 1855. She was a staunch advocate for training young women in the medical profession and providing health care to hi... Read more

Belle Sherman Elementary School

Located at 501 Mitchell Street, Belle Sherman Elementary School was named after the influential educator, Mary Isabella "Belle" Sherman (1852-1929). Sherman taught science and history in Ithaca schools for 33 years until her retirement in 1... Read more

Martha Van Rensselaer Hall

Located off Reservoir Avenue on Cornell's North Central campus. A pioneer educator of women, Martha Van Rensselaer (1864-1932) joined the faculty of Cornell University in 1900 to give extension courses in home economics with the vision of a... Read more

817 Triphammer Road

Erma Cicchetti (1903-1961) was an accomplished amateur designer and project manager who oversaw the construction of approximately thirty-five Cayuga Heights homes over a period of twenty years, beginning in 1940. The residence at 817 Tripha... Read more

Flora Rose House / Mennen Hall

Located at 300 West Avenue Flora Rose (1874-1959) graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Kansas State University in 1904 and received her Master's Degree in Food and Nutrition from Columbia University by 1907. She came to Cornell shortly... Read more

Risley Hall

Margaret Bourke-White (1904-1971) was one of the preeminent American photographers of the twentieth century. Born in the Bronx, Bourke-White came to Ithaca to finish her education at Cornell University. She became a protégé of Ithaca phot... Read more