Riley House Museum is a Must-See Tallahassee Attraction
Riley House Museum, the former home of one of the most significant black Americans in Florida history, is also a must-see stop in Tallahassee for anyone interested in the African-American experience. Born into slavery in 1857, John Gilmore Riley died nearly a century later, a self-made millionaire. An educator, NAACP officer and real estate mogul, Riley built the vernacular wood framed Riley House at the corner of Meridian and Jefferson streets in 1895. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Today his home is the John Gilmore Riley Center/Museum of African American History & Culture -- more commonly known as simply the Riley House Museum. It is also the headquarters of the Tallahassee branch of the NAACP.
Born in Leon County, Riley pursued a career in education, becoming a teacher and, later, principal of Lincoln Academy from 1893 to 1926. He also owned substantial commercial properties in downtown Tallahassee and was a prominent Mason.
After his death at the age of 97 in 1954, the family owned the house until 1970. The historic home represents one of the last vestiges of the thriving black neighborhood that existed just east of downtown Tallahassee known as Smokey Hollow. Local preservationists purchased the property, turning it into a museum in 1995.
One of the most intriguing features of Riley House Museum is the oral history program, dedicated to preserving the stories of elderly citizens. The Riley House conducts oral history interviews for families at no charge.
The museum also partnered with Tallahassee Community College to house a vast collection of documents and archives relating to black history and the abolition movement. This amazing historical resource consists of 14,000 documents -- including editorials, sermons, speeches, letters and essays written by black Americans involved in the movement to end slavery in the United States.
Posted on Apr 4, 2011 by Christopher Lloyd
