History features are brief articles or posts about specific topics that have been written by OHC staff members, volunteers, and community members.
This page will be under development for some time as we migrate content from the old website. If you are interested in a particular article that is missing, please contact us.
By Melva Tolbert, Oberlin Heritage Center Volunteer In keeping with the theme of freedom and the Underground Railroad, I recently visited Norfolk, Virginia which is rich in history and stories of freedom. After a stop at the Norfolk Visitors Bureau, I set out to find...
by Melva Tolbert, Oberlin Heritage Center volunteer As my husband and I recently traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio for a family reunion, it was a great opportunity to spend time visiting some historic sites in a city that was so active in the struggle for freedom. My brief...
by Ron Gorman, Oberlin Heritage Center volunteer docent, researcher and trustee The recent Presidential election, in which Ohio continued its recent trend of flip-flopping between blue and red every 8 years, got me thinking about early Ohio history. It was even worse...
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 Melva Tolbert, Oberlin Heritage Center volunteer September 9, 2015 While recently visiting my daughter, who resides in New Orleans, Louisiana, we decided to spend an afternoon at the Whitney Plantation in Wallace, LA. Jessica is a history major and an...
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(Part One of a Three-Part Holiday blog series) by Melissa Clifford, 2014 Kent State MLIS Museum Studies graduate student *Please note that all icons are actually links to sound files so that you can hear our Oral History interviewees tell their own stories!*...
by Linda Gates, Front Office Employee Hello everyone! My name is Linda Gates. I work at OHC through the Mature Services program. Mature Services helps people 55 years old and over find jobs where we can learn new skills and get back into the working world. We are...
by Jen Graham, 2013-2014 Local History Corps AmeriCorps Member I work in a basement. Don't worry, though! It’s not nearly as dismal as it sounds. There is plenty of light, and I’m surrounded by objects and photographs older than my grandparents. But when you’re in a...
Greetings history enthusiasts and arbitrary visitors alike! My name is Austin Spenzer and this summer I am interning with the Oberlin Heritage Center through an organization called Leadership Lorain County. This upcoming fall semester I will be a senior at Miami...
by Jen Graham, Ohio History Service Corps member at the Oberlin Heritage Center As a historian, I’ve fallen in love with letters. There is a striking liminality in reading someone else’s mail. It’s as if, by unfolding the delicate creases of yellowed paper and losing...
by Michelle Myers, Leadership Lorain County Intern Upon leaving my summer internship at the Oberlin Heritage Center and graduating from Swarthmore College in two years, I plan on going to nursing school and becoming a midwife. I have taken an interest in Dr. A.C....
By Mary Anne Cunningham, Assistant to the Director Last month, OHC staff visited with Michael and Dorene McAndrews of Brooksville, Florida, who traveled to Oberlin as part of a journey to research and document the history of their restored 1940 DeSoto, once hailed as...
The Lormet Community Federal Credit Union is restoring 49 South Main to its original 1950s appearance. After Oberlin’s AAA closed its doors at 49 South Main Street two years ago, Lormet Credit Union, the largest credit union in Lorain County, bought the property to...
Stofan Studio on East College Street in Oberlin, circa 1970.(Photograph by Michael Wm. Kelly) Andrew Stofan operated a photo studio in downtown Oberlin from the 1934 to 1974. He took pictures of every Oberlin High School senior class during that time period except...
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