Adult History Programs

Adult Speakers Bureau Programs

The Oberlin Heritage Center offers engaging history programs for adults, designed to bring Oberlin Ohio history, local historical landmarks, and preservation stories to your organization, business, or community group. Our Adult Speakers Bureau features public history programs, local history presentations, and museum professional development workshops that cover topics such as the Underground Railroad, Civil War history, African American business owners, and women’s suffrage.

Program Details:

  • Fee: $100 per program; $75 per program for OHC business members.
  • Travel Fee: Additional mileage fees apply for programs outside Lorain County.
  • Length: Presentations typically run 45-60 minutes, but can be customized to meet your group’s needs.
  • Setup Requirements: Projector, screen, and table for equipment. Additional accommodations like a podium, microphone, and table for OHC literature are appreciated.

To schedule a program:
Contact our Museum Education & Tour Manager at tourinfo@oberlinheritage.org or call 440-774-1700.

Popular History Topics: 

Our adult outreach programs highlight Oberlin’s rich history, including freedom seekers, abolitionists, Underground Railroad routes, Civil War home front stories, and community activism. Each topic is rooted in historical research, local oral histories, and archival materials:

  • Freedom’s Friends: Abolition and the Underground Railroad in Oberlin, Ohio
  • The Civil War: Oberlin Perspectives on the Home Front and War Front
  • Civil War to Civil Rights
  • Black Business Owners in Oberlin
  • Local Activism, National Impact: Women’s Suffrage in Oberlin
  • An Introduction to Historical Redlining in Oberlin
  • Early Schooling in Ohio
  • Oberlin’s Industries (19th century to today)
  • Virtual Tour of the Oberlin Heritage Center
  • A History of Westwood Cemetery
  • The Secrets and Scandals of Oberlin
  • Women’s Widening World: 20th Century Stories from the Oberlin Oral History Project
  • From the Great Depression to World War II: Stories from the Oberlin Oral History Project
  • Great City, Great War: Oberlin’s Response to World War I
  • The Oberlin Oral History Project (hints for conducting oral histories, highlight audio clips)
  • Eleanor Roosevelt Visits Oberlin in 1942 (20 min. program)
  • The First Automobiles in Oberlin (20 min program)
  • Highlights of Presidents Garfield and Hayes’ Connections to Oberlin (20-40 minutes)
  • Oberlin’s Contentious, Historic Relationship with Alcohol (20 min. program)
  • Sabram Cox: Black Abolitionist & Unsung Oberlin Hero (20 min. program)

Museum Professional Development Workshops

Please contact the Museum Education & Tour Manager or call 440-774-1700 for more information.

Topics: 

  • Membership Counts (Tips for Increasing Membership)
  • Rethinking Your Website for Greater Outreach
  • Are You Ready for Teen Volunteers?
  • Caring For Your Historic Photographs
  • The Oberlin Oral History Project (hints for conducting oral histories, highlight audio clips)
  • Self-Guided Tours and Alternatives to Traditional Historic House Museum Experiences