Basil Dorsey Day Museum Open Hours
In honor of Basil Dorsey Day, The David Ruggles Center will be open Saturday, February 18 from 9:30-1:30. Learn about the Florence-based abolitionist movement, Underground Railroad and the 1840s Utopian community dedicated to racial, economic, and gender equality. Current exhibits include the lives of abolitionists David Ruggles, Sojourner Truth, and Lydia Maria Childs.
Basil Dorsey Day Walking Tour
In honor of Basil Dorsey Day, Steve Strimer will interpret the local landscape to tell the story of Basil Dorsey who escaped slavery in Maryland and eventually settled here in Florence. The tour begins at 10AM at the David Ruggles Center. Suggested donation $5-10.
“After Archives”: Artist Wendel White in Conversation with Novelist and Historian Dr. Ousmane Power-Greene
The DRC along with Historic Northampton and A.P.E. Ltd. Gallery is cosponsoring a Conversation with DRC Board Member novelist and historian Dr. Ousmane Power-Greene and Wendel White, an artist whose work is displayed as part of the A.P.E. Gallery's show, "After Archives." The program will be on ZOOM. "After Archives" will be at the A.P.E. [...]
Founder Day: Museum Open
The museum at the David Ruggles Center for History and Education will be open Saturday April 8 In honor of the founding of the Northampton Association for Education And Industry and the David Ruggles Center. Come see exhibits about some of the amazing abolitionists who lived in Florence in the 1840s and 1850s who worked [...]
Founders’ Day Walking Tour: Commemorating the DRC’s 15th Anniversary
David Ruggles Center 225 Nonotuck St., Florence, MA, United StatesPlease join Steve Strimer on a public walking tour on April 8, 2023, commemorating the 15th anniversary of the founding of the David Ruggles Center for History and Education. On April 8 we also honor the 141st anniversary of the founding of the Northampton Association of Education and Industry (NAEI). The NAEI, founded in what [...]
David Ruggles Center 2023 Founders Day Symposium: “Lydia Maria Child in Florence and a Tribute to John H. Bracey, Jr.” Cohosted by Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity.
Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity 130 Pine St, Florence, MA, United StatesOur guest speaker is Prof. Lydia Moland, the author of an acclaimed new biography of Lydia Maria Child, a key figure in the national movement to abolish slavery who spent critical years living in Florence. Her talk will be preceded by a tribute to John H. Bracey, Jr.: author, activist, scholar and professor in the [...]
David Ruggles Center Museum Open Hours: Sundays, 12-4, June-October.
The David Ruggles Center for History and Education will be open for visitors Sundays 12-4 from June 4- September 25, with the exception of June 25 when the museum will be closed. Current exhibit include: "David Ruggles: At the Vanguard of Liberty"; “'The Spirit Calls Me There': Sojourner Truth in Florence, 1844-1857"; "Lydia Maria Child"; [...]
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 [...]