Chains of Steele
Main Exhibit Hall
Opens April 2026
This exhibit will examine the American institution of slavery through the writings, histories, and collections of Augustus and Augusta Steele, two ancestors of Gainesville’s Matheson family.
Augustus, a Massachusetts native turned Florida land developer, was the founder of the town of Cedar Key, Hillsborough County, and Levy County. He grew up in a state where slavery was outlawed but by the time of his death, he was a devoted Confederate official, advocate for slavery, and slave owner.
His only child, Augusta, was part of one of the last generations that grew up supported by the institution of slavery. The Steeles were not a major slave owning family but were friends with many families who were. Their perspectives provide a window to peer into the cultural consciousness that upheld and perpetuated one of the most influential and controversial facets of Florida’s history.
Photos courtesy of the Matheson Family Collection
In the Pines: The Shadow of the Turpentine Industry
Main Exhibit Hall
Opens Spring 2027
In partnership with the UF Museum Studies Program and the Alachua County Community Remembrance Project, this exhibit will examine the history of peonage labor during the Jim Crow Era as it pertains to the local turpentine industry.
Postcard courtesy of the Matheson collection