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 Ron Gorman, Oberlin Heritage Center volunteer docent and researcher [Warning - the following text contains some racist language in its original, historic context] In the evening mist of April 11, 1865, Oberlin's African American political leader, John Mercer...
by Ron Gorman, Oberlin Heritage Center volunteer docent and researcher Last week the New York Times published a blog posted by Jon Grinspan that asked the question, "was abolitionism a failure?" The author answered the question with the assertion that "as a pre-Civil...
by Ron Gorman, Oberlin Heritage Center volunteer docent November 1864 - 150 years ago this month - saw a curious spectacle in the American Civil War. After Union General William Sherman captured the city of Atlanta from Confederate General John Bell Hood, both armies...
by Ron Gorman, Oberlin Heritage Center volunteer docent 150 years ago this week, an important, but often overlooked, battle was fought in the American Civil War. It was the Battle of New Market Heights, fought September 29, 1864, on the outskirts of the Confederate...
by Ron Gorman, Oberlin Heritage Center volunteer docent The party was such a success that it would make the local paper. Fifty guests crowded into the house on South Water Street (present day Park Street) - among them the Mayor of Oberlin, Civil War veterans, and a...
by Ron Gorman, Oberlin Heritage Center volunteer docent It was February 4, 1861, and the United States of America was coming unglued. On this date Oberlin residents gathered together to pray and discuss their response. Three months earlier the country, Oberlin...
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By OHC Executive Director Liz Schultz The complex of structures on Morgan Street known as the Water Works tells the history of Oberlin's growth as a city, continuous efforts to problem-solve through science and engineering, and leadership in civic improvements....
by Officer Bashshar Wiley,Oberlin Police Department As a police officer with the City of Oberlin Police Department, I spend a lot of time patrolling the streets and neighborhoods. Although I’m not sure of the exact number of miles driven or hours spent on patrol...
by Officer Bashshar Wiley,Oberlin Police Department For the past 5 1/2 years I’ve been a police officer with the Oberlin Police Department. Prior to being employed by the city, I lived in Oberlin until the age of 11 when I moved to the Village of Grafton. Growing up,...
(Part Three of a Three-Part Holiday blog series) by Melissa Clifford, 2014 Kent State MLIS graduate student While scouring through the oral history transcripts, I have stumbled across quite a few stories about Christmas in Oberlin’s past. To me, Christmas has...
(Part Two 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!* I’ve...
(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...
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