The Kate Mullany House was the home of Kate Mullany (1845–1906), an early female labor leader who started the all-women

Collar Laundry Union The Collar Laundry Union was the first all-female labor union in the United States. It was started in Troy, New York by Kate Mullany in 1864. At the time, being a laundress was a difficult job. An almost exclusively female occupation, laun ...

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

in February 1864. It was one of the first women's unions that lasted longer than the resolution of a specific issue. It is located at 350 8th Street in Troy, just off

NY 7 New York State Route 7 (NY 7) is a state highway in New York in the United States. The highway runs from Pennsylvania Route 29 (PA 29) at the Pennsylvania state line south of Binghamton in Broome County, New York, to ...

one empty lot east of the

Collar City Bridge The Collar City Bridge (also known as the Hoosick Street Bridge) carries NYS Route 7 (NY 7) across the Hudson River connecting Colonie, New York with Troy, by way of passing over Green Island. Though the northern terminus of Interstate ...

. The house was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1998. and It is now a National Historic Site. The site also includes Mullany's grave. The

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

honored the house and its most famous resident for

Women's History Month Women's History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. It is celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with ...

in March 2007. The house is also on the New York Women's Heritage Trail.

Designation as a National Historic Site

Then

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

toured the house in 2000, and named it as a "treasure". Senator Daniel P. Moynihan had introduced a bill to designate the home as a National Historic Site, but the bill languished in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. Senator Clinton took up the bill in January 2001 when Moynhian retired, and she advocated for the home. There were hearings on the bill, and the

Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. Inspired by California's Legislative Analyst's Office that manages ...

undertook an official budget analysis for the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. The bill was co-sponsored by Senator Clinton and Representative Mike McNulty, supported by

organized labor A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

, and was passed into law.Bill passed, Mike McNulty's official web site
Accessed January 24, 2008. It is an affiliated area of the National Park Service; it remains privately owned and operated but the NPS provides technical support. Image:Kate Mullany House Doorway 30May2008.jpg, The doorway for the address occupied by labor organizer Kate Mullany Image:Kate Mullany House Marker 30May2008.jpg, Informational commemorative plaque located on the brick façade between addresses 350 and 352 on Eighth Street in downtown Troy, NY Image:Kate Mullany Alternate 10Jan2008.jpg, Side view capturing just the 350 section of the building from a little further down Eighth Street Image:Kate Mullany House 30May2008.jpg, Labor organizer Kate Mullany's former home on 8th Street in downtown Troy, New York as photographed 30 May 2008.

References

External links

*
Places Where Women Made History: the Kate Mullany House, at National Park Service
. Accessed January 24, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mullany, Kate, House Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) National Historic Sites in New York (state) National Historic Landmarks in New York (state) Houses completed in 1869 Labor rights National Register of Historic Places in Troy, New York Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) 1869 establishments in New York (state) Houses in Troy, New York History of women in New York (state)