You’ve seen her face on the silver dollar. You probably know she was a titan of the suffrage movement. But when people ask, "where does Susan B. Anthony live," they’re usually looking for a physical connection to a woman who basically didn't stop moving for fifty years.
Honestly, she doesn't "live" anywhere today—she passed away in 1906—but her presence is so thick in Rochester, New York, that it feels like she just stepped out to mail a letter. If you’re looking for the exact spot where the magic (and the trouble) happened, you’re looking for 17 Madison Street.
The House Where She Actually Lived
For the last 40 years of her life, Susan B. Anthony called a red brick, Italianate-style house in Rochester home. It wasn't just a place to sleep. It was the nerve center of a revolution.
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Imagine this: the year is 1872. Susan is sitting in her front parlor. There’s a knock at the door. It’s a U.S. Marshal. He’s there to arrest her. Why? Because she had the "audacity" to vote in the presidential election. That actual room—the front parlor at 17 Madison Street—is still there. You can stand exactly where she stood when she told the officer she wasn't going quietly.
The house was crowded. Susan shared it with her sister, Mary S. Anthony, who was a total powerhouse in her own right. Their mother, Lucy, lived there too. It was a female-led household long before that was a "thing."
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It Wasn't Always Rochester
Susan wasn't born a New Yorker. She started out in Adams, Massachusetts, in 1820. Her birthplace is another spot you can actually visit. It’s a much humbler vibe—a colonial-style house that really shows her Quaker roots.
Then there’s the "middle" years. Her family moved to Battenville, New York, when she was about six. Her dad, Daniel, was a mill owner, and he built a massive 15-room brick house there. But life got messy. The Panic of 1837 hit the family hard, and they lost almost everything. They were forced to sell their stuff—even their underwear, which is just a wild detail to think about—and move into a drafty old inn nearby.
By 1845, they headed to Rochester. They started on a farm on Brooks Avenue (which became a hangout for abolitionists like Frederick Douglass) before finally settling into the famous Madison Street house in 1866.
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The Third Floor "Workroom"
If you visit the Rochester house today, you’ve got to check out the third floor. Susan had it added later in life. She needed space.
Basically, the house had become the national headquarters for the National American Woman Suffrage Association. It was packed with desks, stacks of "The Revolution" newspaper, and women frantically typing away. Susan would spend hours up there with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, drafting speeches that would eventually change the Constitution. It’s not just a house; it’s a monument to the grind.
Where She Rests Now
If you want to visit her final, final "home," you have to go to Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester.
It’s a beautiful, hilly Victorian cemetery. Her grave is surprisingly modest. It’s a simple white headstone. But here’s the cool part: every Election Day, thousands of people trek to that grave. They cover her headstone in "I Voted" stickers. It’s become such a tradition that the cemetery has to put up plastic shields to protect the marble from the sticker adhesive.
What You Can Do Next
If you’re planning a trip to see where Susan B. Anthony lived, don't just wing it. The National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House at 17 Madison Street is popular.
- Book a Tour: You can’t just walk in and roam around. You need a guided tour to see the rooms. They’re open Tuesday through Sunday, usually 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Check the Visitor Center: It’s actually in the house next door (19 Madison Street), which used to belong to her sister Hannah.
- Visit the Grave: Mount Hope Cemetery is only about a 10-minute drive from the house. Look for Section C, Plot 93.
- See the "Birthplace": If you're in New England, the Adams, Massachusetts home is at 67 East Road.
Standing in the hallway where she was arrested or seeing the desk where she wrote "Failure is Impossible" hits differently than reading it in a textbook. It makes the history feel... well, lived in.