"Votes for Women" in Niagara Falls, NY

In the decade before American women won the right to vote in 1920, suffrage activities were coalescing in Niagara Falls, NY in a seemingly unlikely place--the Shredded Wheat Factory on Buffalo Avenue.

Established in 1901, the factory was a progressive place of employment and a corporation that was decades ahead of its time. The women employed there were provided free lunches (unlike male employees who had to pay 10 cents). They had their own lunchroom and lounge, which had games and a lending library.

In October 1910, the New York State Woman Suffrage Association held its 42nd Annual Suffrage Convention in the 800-seat factory auditorium. “The auditorium was used periodically for employee lectures and entertainments, but was also offered to outside groups at no charge. Niagara Falls was a convention city and this facility was excellent advertising for the company.”

For four days, suffragists from across the region gathered in the auditorium for meetings and speeches. Unlike other organizations, the convention “welcomed black suffrage speakers.” Irene Moorman, for example, “represented the Negro Men’s and Women’s Branch of the Political Equality Association” and “spoke about the ways that settlement house workers promoted suffrage and political equality” in New York City.

Gertrude Tone, a white suffragist, lived on Buffalo Avenue near the factory. She “led the Niagara Falls suffragists, setting up headquarters at Prospect House, a large hotel famed for wait staff that had once participated in the Underground Railroad.” A photograph of Prospect House was featured on the conference program.

An old dinner menu reveals that there was a previously established relationship between the hotel and the factory. On the back of the menu, diners at the hotel restaurant were “cordially invited” to take a factory tour. 

1910 was the same year the company began placing a colorful image of the Falls on boxes of Shredded Wheat. It also started to coopt the suffrage movement in order to sell its products. A 1913 advertisement depicted a housewife holding a shredded wheat biscuit before a ballot. The words Shredded Wheat and Votes for Women are emphasized in bright red font, linking the product to the cause of suffrage. 

The copy reads: “Two million women will have a right to vote at the next Presidential election. Twenty million women have voted for the emancipation of American womanhood by serving Shredded Wheat in their homes. Every biscuit is a vote for health, happiness and domestic freedom [….].” The ad appeared in a number of national magazines and newspapers.



After decades of activism, women across the country proudly cast real, hard-earned ballots after finally winning the right to vote on August 18, 1920.

Hope L. Russell, Ph.D.