The John G. Riley Center & Museum of African American History & Culture preserves the Riley historic home, the last vestige of the thriving black middle-class neighborhood of Smokey Hollow that once stood just east of downtown Tallahassee. Its purpose is to discover, archive, and illuminate the blended interrelationship of African American, Native American, and European history and to preserve African American landmarks and legacies throughout Florida as an enduring public resource through tourism and education. Established in 1996, it offers programs that encourage awareness of and appreciation for the educational and social contributions of African Americans to Florida's history. Efforts to rehabilitate the building began in the late 1970's, the Riley House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, preservation has continued through the work of many organizations and individuals, and the house is included on the Florida Black Heritage Trail. The site also connects the history of John Gilmore Riley and Smokey Hollow to a broader historical timeline that includes emancipation, Reconstruction, the founding of Smokey Hollow in the 1870s, Riley's home in 1890, his becoming first principal of Lincoln Academy in 1892, later civil rights milestones, the demolition of Smokey Hollow's remaining homes in 1968, the museum's opening in 1996, a new visitor's center in 2013, and the opening of Smokey Hollow Village in 2015 as a commemorative tribute to the community that once occupied what is now downtown Tallahassee.