The Archive

The DRC houses a growing physical document collection of approximately 4000 pages of reproductions of nineteenth century newspaper articles, manuscripts, correspondence, booklets, government records, photographs, and maps relevant to our core mission. The materials focus on the Northampton Association, abolitionists, and the African American community in mid-19th century Florence. Contents also pertain to the antislavery and women’s rights movements and the Underground Railroad in the greater Northampton area including the surrounding towns of the Connecticut River Valley. Materials date from 1809 to the 2000s with the bulk of the materials dating to the three decades before the Civil War.

This archive is the result of ardent research on the part of the DRC historians as well as generous donations by other individuals who’ve also spent years of their lives documenting this extraordinary history.         

The Inventory of the The David Ruggles Historical Materials Collection , created with a generous grant from MassHumanities, details much but not all of our catalogued paper collection. The DRC is also building a complimentary digital archive which we hope to inventory and make available to the public in the near future.

A searchable Digital Archive is under development.

The archive room is open to the public year round, by appointment. To make an appointment, contact us.

The Reading Room

Located in a cozy room on the second floor of the DRC, our research Reading Room is a collection of books and other written materials related to our core mission including Underground Railroad studies, abolition, civil rights, slavery, race studies, and the role played by those who came to Florence in the 1840s and 50s to struggle for human rights and to end slavery. The collection has been made possible by generous donations of many individuals.

The Reading Room is open to the public for browsing during museum hours Sundays, 12-4, June-October, and by appointment. To make an appointment, contact us.

A catalogue and member lending policies are forthcoming.