History features are brief articles or posts about specific topics that have been written by OHC staff members, volunteers, and community members.
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Oberlin Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture: The Harpers Ferry Memorial Current Location: Martin Luther King Jr. Park (NW corner of Vine & Pleasant Sts.) Original Location: Westwood Cemetery Built: c. 1865 Moved and Rededicated: 1971 Along the walking path in Martin...
Moses Fleetwood Walker: A Depiction of his Notable and Innovative Inventions. Figure 1: Moses Fleetwood Walker.[1] by Wesley Patterson, Bonner Scholar at Oberlin College and Volunteer, in 2018-2019. Researcher and Docent at Oberlin Heritage Center. Since the creation...
These were twenty of the thirty-seven citizens from Oberlin and Wellington who were charged with breaking the law by helping John Price escape from slave catchers in the fall of 1858. The Oberlin-Wellington Rescue and subsequent trial caught the eye of the nation as...
The Squirrel Hunters: Citizen Soldiers and the Defense of Ohio in the Civil War By Richard Donegan-AmeriCorps Civil War 150 Leader 2012 at the Oberlin Heritage Center (2012) - In late summer of 1862 two Confederate forces, one under General Robert E. Lee and the other...
The 7th OVI at The Battle of Kernstown—March, 1862 By Richard Donegan AmeriCorps Civil War 150 Leadership Volunteer 2012 at the Oberlin Heritage Center (2012) - As 1862 began, President Lincoln urged his Generals to advance against the forces of the Confederacy in all...
Hiram Alonzo Pease: The Legend of a Principled Abolitionist By Richard Donegan-AmeriCorps Civil War 150 Leadership Volunteer at the Oberlin Heritage Center (2012) - One of Oberlin’s proudest legacies is the town’s role in the Underground Railroad and the fight against...
by Ron Gorman, Oberlin Heritage Center volunteer docent, researcher, and trustee Oberlin's history is chock-full of people who have gained national and international recognition for their achievements, like Antoinette Brown (Blackwell) - the first female ordained...
by Ron Gorman, Oberlin Heritage Center volunteer docent, researcher and trustee Frances ("Fanny") Jackson came to Oberlin in 1860 with a dream - a dream "to get an education and to teach my people", she said. "This idea was deep in my soul. Where it came from I cannot...
by Ron Gorman, Oberlin Heritage Center volunteer docent In 1850, a young African American couple from Oberlin, acclaimed as up-and-coming spokespersons against slavery and racial injustice, gazed with optimism towards a future of bright hope for themselves, their...
by Ron Gorman, Oberlin Heritage Center volunteer docent The winter of 1856 was a particularly harsh one - harsh enough that the Ohio River froze solid in January, something that only happened every few years. When it did happen, enslaved Americans on the Kentucky...
by Ron Gorman, Oberlin Heritage Center volunteer docent Did you know that Oberlin was the scene of a series of heated public debates featuring renowned abolitionists William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass and their colleagues in the 1840s? Well, it was, and if...
Discrimination at the Oberlin Bowling Alleys: Racial Discrimination through "Morality Rhetoric in 1934 by Cal Ransom In the early months of 1934, Oberlin Bowling Alleys, recently opened, was sued for racial discrimination. Three young black townspeople, Harry Thomas,...
On May 4, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on students protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State University, killing four. In the days that followed, college towns across the United States and especially in Ohio were on edge. They worried that...
By Mary Manning, Ph.D., 2015-16 Local History Corps AmeriCorps Member Examining the history of Oberlin’s barber shops means addressing a situation in which overt discrimination was standard practice, far into the twentieth century and throughout the United States. In...
Alcines Clair Siddall, M.D. Dr. A. Clair Siddall was a family practice doctor who specialized in obstetrics and gynecology and practiced in Oberlin from 1932 to 1973. Dr. Siddall served as a medical missionary in China from 1923 to 1932. He was actively involved in...
Oberlin Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture: The Harpers Ferry Memorial Current Location: Martin Luther King Jr. Park (NW corner of Vine & Pleasant Sts.) Original Location: Westwood Cemetery Built: c. 1865 Moved and Rededicated: 1971 Along the walking path in Martin...
Charles Martin Hall Memorial History & Restoration of the Marker: The aluminum and stone marker, dedicated on the 40th anniversary of the graduation of the class of 1885, was commissioned by Charles Martin Hall’s classmates to commemorate his contributions to...
Charles Finney in Oberlin Born in Warren, Connecticut August 29, 1792, Charles Grandison Finney was the second president of Oberlin College, and the single most influential figure in the Second American Great Awakening. At the age of 29, while working as a lawyer in...
The Burrell-King House: Its Life and Legacy The Burrell-King House, which sits at 315 East College Street, stands as a memorial to Oberlin’s past, and a quiet reminder of the strength and courage of her founders. Built in 1852, this house remains distinguished by the...
Oberlin Monuments and Landmarks: Toni Morrison’s “Bench by the Road” Location: Northeast corner of Main and Lorain Built: 2009 Dedicated: April 23, 2009 Oberlin’s Bench by the Road recognizes the community’s history and connections with the Underground...
The Capture of La Amistad In January of 1839, a group of newly-captured African "slaves" were put on a ship bound for Cuba, where they would be sold into slavery. Among this group were four children, including a young girl, about seven years old, named Margru--"Black...
Thaddeus Cahill: The Start of the Electronic Music Era Written in 2018-19 by Wesley Patterson, Bonner Scholar at Oberlin College and Volunteer Researcher and Docent at Oberlin Heritage Center. Oberlin, since its creation in 1833, has been the catalyst for many...
Moses Fleetwood Walker: A Depiction of his Notable and Innovative Inventions. Figure 1: Moses Fleetwood Walker.[1] by Wesley Patterson, Bonner Scholar at Oberlin College and Volunteer, in 2018-2019. Researcher and Docent at Oberlin Heritage Center. Since the creation...
by Hannah Cipinko, Oberlin Heritage Center Junior Intern Richard Lothrop (1925-2015), pictured with his cocker spaniel Rusty. [1] Oberlin is well known for its historic qualities, its strong sense of community, and high amount of community involvement. In this...
by Eileen Telegdy, Oberlin Heritage Center volunteer I am Eileen Telegdy and in October of 2014 I retired, sold my home and moved to a condo in Oberlin. I responded to an ad Liz Schultz, the Museum Education and Tour Coordinator of the Oberlin Heritage Center, placed...
by Eli Goldberg (Oberlin College Class of 2012) Over the last month I've been working with Claire and Daniella to restore the Heritage Center's 1930s doll house. As an archaeology major, I'm used to working with old things - but this doll house is about 2,000 years...
Restored Morgan Street Bridge Railings Installed at the Oberlin Heritage Center Last spring Oberlin Heritage Center volunteers, including Walter Edling, Bert Latran, Dick Holsworth, Charles Pope and George Clark rescued and refurbished the century-old iron railings...