Lyme-Born Abolitionist David Ruggles Gets Spotlight in Weeklong Library Series

LYME, CT – A man born in Lyme helped guide Frederick Douglass to freedom, founded one of the nation’s earliest Black-owned bookstores and challenged slavery decades before the Civil War. 

But Lyme Public Library Director Melissa Fournier said most people don’t know who David Ruggles is. 

She described Ruggles, known primarily through a single 19th-century sketch showing him in a tall, white hat, as a pioneer in nonviolent resistance. 

“The more I learn about him, the more I realize he pops up in James Baldwin. He pops up in Martin Luther King Jr. He pops up in Mahatma Gandhi. He pops up in Malcolm X,” she said. “I just don’t know why we don’t know him.” 

Lyme Public Library will celebrate its second annual David Ruggles Week from June 22-27 with a series of lectures, discussions and community events culminating in the unveiling of new portraits honoring Ruggles and Douglass.

Born in Lyme in 1810 shortly before his family moved to Norwich, Ruggles went on to start the New York Committee of Vigilance, publish anti-slavery newspapers and help hundreds of enslaved people – including the man who would go on to become one of the most prominent civil rights figures in history – secure freedom through the Underground Railroad. 

“Frederick Douglass, in his autobiography, credits David Ruggles for saving his life,” she said. 

At a time when many abolitionists focused on persuasion and moral arguments against slavery, Ruggles taught and practiced direct intervention.

“He was fearless,” Fournier said. “He literally risked his life in many cases.”

The week’s programs will explore different chapters of Ruggles’ life and legacy.

Historian Tom Schuch will open the series on Monday, June 22, at 2 p.m. with a presentation examining Ruggles’ genealogy and evidence supporting Lyme as his birthplace. Participants will also learn about the location believed to be the property where Ruggles was born.

On Tuesday, June 23, at 4 p.m., Fournier will discuss the New York Committee of Vigilance, the multiracial anti-slavery organization Ruggles helped establish in 1835 to combat slave-catching operations and assist people seeking freedom.

Representatives from the David Ruggles Center for History and Education in Northampton, Massachusetts, will speak on Wednesday, June 24, at 4 p.m. about Ruggles’ later years. After deteriorating health forced him to leave New York, Ruggles settled in Northampton, where he continued his abolitionist work while pioneering hydrotherapy treatments that gained national attention.

Old Lyme Selectman and historian Jim Lampos will present a lecture on Ruggles and civil disobedience on Thursday, June 25, at 6 p.m. A panel discussion will follow with retired prosecutor Lonnie Braxton, East Lyme Selectman Jason Deeble and Schuch as they examine Ruggles’ continuing influence on civic life and public policy.

The program on Friday, June 26, at 4 p.m., will feature Liz Lightfoot of Historic New England. Lightfoot will talk about the importance of Witness Stones, which have been installed at sites across Lyme and Old Lyme, in restoring forgotten history. The library grounds include a Witness Stone honoring Prince Brown, Ruggles’ maternal grandfather, who was born enslaved but became free.

The celebration concludes Saturday, June 27, at 2 p.m. with the unveiling of two large community-created portraits by artist Jac Lahav depicting Ruggles and Douglass.

Fournier said the portraits began as a community art project during last year’s David Ruggles Week. Children and adults helped paint the works for a mural, which Lahav later refined and transferred to canvas. The finished portraits will become a permanent part of the library’s collection.

“We’ll hang them in the library with the hope that people will turn around and ask, ‘Who are these people?'” she said. “And then the conversation starts.” 

All events are free and open to the public. More information is available on the library’s website.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated with times and a website link.