FIND US
We are open Sundays from 12-4PM from May through October.
We are located at 225 Nonotuck St. Florence, MA.
Contact us at info@davidrugglescenter.org to arrange an appointment year round.
Our mailing address is:
The David Ruggles Center PO Box 60175 Florence, MA 01062
Directions are available through Google Maps.
Public Transportation: PVTA buses go by the museum and to nearby Florence center.
ACCESSIBILITY
A wheelchair ramp allows the museum to be fully accessible on the main floor.
CURRENT EXHIBITS
David Ruggles: At the Vanguard of Liberty
“The Spirit Calls me There”: Sojourner Truth in Florence 1844-1857
Lydia Maria Child: Abolitionist
Erasmus Darwin Hudson
Northampton’s Mayor David Narkewicz in the David Ruggles room.
WALKING TOURS
Guided tours are available year-round—check our calendar for upcoming dates or contact us to arrange a museum visit or walking tour.
Walk the African-American history trail in Florence and see Sojourner Truth’s house, abolitionist sites, and the site of the 19th-century utopian community in Florence. We will explain what brought a progressive, innovative group of people to Florence in the 19th century and how they influenced Florence’s development.
Watch our calendar for special tours throughout the year, including those focusing on women’s history, the Underground Railroad, and other topics, as well as annual events like Basil Dorsey Day (February), Founders Day (April), Juneteenth, and the Park St. Cemetery tour (October).
Tours are free and open to the public though a suggested donation of $10/person is welcome.Special group tours are available by appointment.
We have recently welcomed over 150 elementary and secondary learners, more than 80 college students from Smith College, Mt. Holyoke and Springfield College, as well as many adult visitors, including the Northampton Reparations Commission, the Northampton Historical Commission, Lathrop Community residents, the Amherst League of Women Voters, and smaller family groups. Some visitors are new to our story, and others come with more knowledge and specific interests. Many comment on how moved they are by the stories of the reformers and freedom seekers who lived here in the mid 1800s. Most visitors were not aware that 10% of the community was African American, both self-emancipated and free-born Black families. People are fascinated by the stories of members of the Northampton Association that give a sense of what daily life was like, trying to produce silk and participate in the movement to end slavery, and at the same time negotiate communal living on the banks of the Mill River.
We hope you will join us on a tour, spread the word about the David Ruggles Center, and support our work. We are an all-volunteer organization, committed and ambitious, and we rely on the support of our community. Thank you!
I can’t believe Sojourner Truth actually lived here!
I learned about Basil Dorsey’s experience and impact on Florence. It helped me feel more connected to where I live.
I had no idea about the builders of the dam, Sojourner’s house, or the significance of the names on the gravestones. I am prouder to be a resident of Florence than ever before.
SELF-GUIDED TOURS
In 1850, the small village of Florence (then Bensonville), had a higher percentage of African Americans than nearby Springfield or even other strongly abolitionist communities in New Bedford and Boston. Many in this significant if short-lived historical community were self-emancipated former slaves. Others like Sojourner Truth and David Ruggles were among the nation’s leading black activists in the struggle to end slavery.
The abolitionists and women’s rights activists, Sojourner Truth and Lydia Maria Child, lived here for extended periods. The transcendentalist educator, Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, played a key role in founding the the first free, endowed kindergarten in the United States, which continues today as the Hill Institute. These and many other women are but a few of those whose stories enrich a walk through the streets of Florence.
The video series takes you on a guided tour of the African American Heritage Trail. The trail explores the Florence of Sojourner Truth’s time, when she lived in this small Massachusetts community in the mid-1800s. We are fortunate that so many of the historic homes and buildings remain as reminders of the contributions and legacy of the many abolitionists, Underground Railroad agents, and former slaves who called Florence home in the 19th century. Courtesy of the Sojourner Truth Memorial Committee.