Juneteenth Program: “David Ruggles, Organizer: Meeting of the 1844 “Colored Citizens of Northampton,” & the 1850 Meeting to resist the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850,” by Steve Strimer. Followed by a Walking Tour.
David Ruggles Center 225 Nonotuck St., Florence, MA, United StatesIn honor of Juneteenth, the DRC is proud to present a new slideshow developed and presented by Steve Strimer: "David Ruggles, Organizer: Meeting of the 1844 "Colored Citizens of Northampton," & the 1850 Meeting to resist the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850." The presentation will be held at the Ruggles Center and will be [...]
Florence Utopian Bike Tour, August 5th, 9:00 AM. Register today!
Friends of Northampton Trails (FNT) and the David Ruggles Center are partnering again to lead the third Florence Utopian Bike Tour. This year the bike tour will begin at the new Florence history mural on the Florence Paint and Decorating Center. The tour will reference Florence’s rich history related to the Northampton Association of Education [...]
Educators Picnic and Open House
Join us for our Annual Educators Picnic and Open House at the David Ruggles Center on Sunday, August 20, from 12:00-4:00. Drop in, meet fellow educators, tour the museum and learn what we offer visiting school groups. Food and drink will be provided. Kim Gerould, a retired Northampton public schools educator who now volunteers at [...]
Halloween Anti-slavery History Tour at Historic Park Street Cemetery, Florence
Park Street Cemetery Park Street, Florence, MA, United StatesSteve Strimer will lead a history tour of the gravesites of leading antislavery activists and advocates including: formerly enslaved Black citizens, Northampton Association for Education and Industry founders (1842–1846), and Black and White Underground Railroad assistants and others. We'll then go find a few of their houses in the "Neighborhood Community" nearby. For more information, [...]
Museum Open: In Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
David Ruggles Center 225 Nonotuck St., Florence, MA, United StatesThe David Ruggles Center for History and Education will be open Monday, January 15, 8-4, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Visitors can learn about local, nationally significant Black Americans who while living in 1840s and 50s Florence (Northampton) fought against the institution of slavery and racial injustice. This history highlights not only [...]
Basil Dorsey Day Walking Tour
David Ruggles Center 225 Nonotuck St., Florence, MA, United StatesPlease join us in celebrating the life of Basil Dorsey, a freedom seeker from Maryland who began his escape from enslavement in 1836, ultimately settling in Florence, Massachusetts in 1844. DRC Guides Kim Gerould and Kevin McQuillan will start with a short introduction in the museum, and then walk, looking at sites connected to [...]
DRC Museum Open for 2024 Season: May 5 – October 27, Sundays 12-4
David Ruggles Center 225 Nonotuck St., Florence, MA, United StatesThe David Ruggles Center for History and Education will be open May 5-October 27, Sundays, 12-4, and as always, will be staffed by a knowledgeable docent. Current museum exhibits include: -David Ruggles: At the Vanguard of Liberty -"The Spirit Calls me There": Sojourner Truth in Florence, 1844-1857 -Lydia Maria Child, Abolitionist -The Underground Railroad in [...]
Founders Day Event 2024: Nell Irvin Painter In Conversation with Lisa Unger Baskin
Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity 130 Pine St, Florence, MA, United StatesIn honor of our 2024 Founders Day, The David Ruggles Center welcomes acclaimed historian and writer, Nell Irvin Painter, Professor Emerita of American History at Princeton University, in conversation with Lisa Unger Baskin, eminent women's historian and collector and DRC Board Member. Topics will range from issues of race in America, to Sojourner Truth, [...]
Juneteenth Open House 12-4 PM
David Ruggles Center 225 Nonotuck St., Florence, MA, United StatesIn honor of the Juneteenth holiday, the David Ruggles Center will be hosting an Open House on Wednesday, June 19 from 12-4. Come learn the stories of the Black men and women in 1840s and 1850s Florence who fought to end slavery and racism including: David Ruggles, a fierce fighter for racial justice and an [...]
Annual Graveyard Tour of the Park Street Cemetery in Florence
Park Street Cemetery Park Street, Florence, MassachusettsJoin tour guide Steve Strimer for a walk among the gravesites and then by the homes of several of the progressive heroes of Florence history. Utopian community founders, African American freedom seekers turned stalwart citizens, reformers, radical free thinkers, buried here in the shadow of Cosmian Hall, the Temple of Free Speech.