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Oberlin elementary school students outside Prospect School, 1905
This image is of a group of students arranged on the front steps of Prospect School. Prospect and Pleasant Street schools were identical buildings both built in 1887. Prospect served the west side and Pleasant the east side of town. Writing on the…
Syllabus for Oberlin History as American History, 2014
This is a syllabus for a college-level course in which students explore the history of Oberlin, Ohio, as a unique location and in relation to broader trends in American history. The class challenges students to research, understand and evaluate the…
2021-4-26, Oberlin Rock, RIP Daunte Wright
A photo of the one of the Oberlin Rocks painted in memory of Daunte Wright, a Black man shot to death by a white police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.
Bench by the Road Memorial
The Toni Morrison Society launched the "Bench by the Side of the Road" project in 2006, on the occasion of novelist Toni Morrison's 75th birthday. The society places benches at sites important to African American history. The project developed in…
The Founder's Boulder
This boulder, one of the three on Tappan Square, was gifted to the college in 1933 by Edwin Hill, who found it on his farm. It honors the two founders of Oberlin, John J. Shipherd and Philo P. Stewart.
Class of 1882 Boulder
The Oberlin Class of 1882 gifted this boulder, taken from Plum Creek, to the college as their class gift. Today it sits in Tappan Square near the Memorial Arch off of North Professor Street.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map: Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio - 1922
Sanborn Maps show the outline of each building including the location of windows and doors together with street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers. The maps display building materials,…
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map: Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio - 1911
Sanborn Maps show the outline of each building including the location of windows and doors together with street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers. The maps display building materials,…
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map: Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio - 1904
Sanborn Maps show the outline of each building including the location of windows and doors together with street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers. The maps display building materials,…
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map: Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio - 1897
Sanborn Maps show the outline of each building including the location of windows and doors together with street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers. The maps display building materials,…
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map: Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio - 1893
Sanborn Maps show the outline of each building including the location of windows and doors together with street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers. The maps display building materials,…
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map: Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio -1888
Sanborn Maps show the outline of each building including the location of windows and doors together with street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers. The maps display building materials,…
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map: Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio - 1884
Sanborn Maps show the outline of each building including the location of windows and doors together with street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers. The maps display building materials,…
History of Carnegie Library, 1908-2008
An exhibition that tells the history of the Carnegie Library, including archival photographs and memories contributed by alumni. The College library moved into Seeley G. Mudd Learning Center in 1974. Between 1890 and 1990 the Oberlin Public…
John Mercer Langston House
The John Mercer Langston House, built in 1855 and located on East College Street across from Eastwood Elementary School, was the home of John Mercer Langston and his family from 1856 until 1867. John Mercer Langston was an Oberlin graduate and…
John Mercer Langston
A graduate of both Oberlin College and the Oberlin Theological Institute and a longtime resident of Oberlin, John Mercer Langston was one of the most accomplished Americans of the nineteenth century. A lifelong activist for racial equality, he blazed…
Mary Edmonia Lewis
The first professional African American sculptor, Edmonia Lewis attended Oberlin College from 1859 through 1862. While her time at Oberlin ended in scandal, she went on to have a successful career as an American expatriate artist living in Rome.
Oberlin College Preparatory Class of 1855
A photo of an 1855 class from the Preparatory Department of Oberlin College. The college offered pre-college education in the Preparatory Department in the 19th and early 20th centuries. One of the students in the class (upper right) was Anthony…
Car with rock, Big Parade 2014
Photo from the Big Parade 2014. The Big Parade has been an Oberlin tradition since the early 2000s. Community residents and college students make floats, wear costumes, and march through Tappan Square.
Kendall Precision Drill Team Photo, Big Parade 2014
Photo from the Big Parade 2014. The Big Parade has been an Oberlin tradition since the early 2000s. Community residents and college students make floats, wear costumes, and march through Tappan Square.
People in costume, Big Parade 2014
Photo from the Big Parade 2014. The Big Parade has been an Oberlin tradition since the early 2000s. Community residents and college students make floats, wear costumes, and march through Tappan Square.
Bat float, Big Parade 2014
Photo from the Big Parade 2014. The Big Parade has been an Oberlin tradition since the early 2000s. Community residents and college students make floats, wear costumes, and march through Tappan Square.
Man walking goat, Big Parade 2014
Photo from the Big Parade 2014. The Big Parade has been an Oberlin tradition since the early 2000s. Community residents and college students make floats, wear costumes, and march through Tappan Square.
Tall Creature Costume, Big Parade 2014
Photo from the Big Parade 2014. The Big Parade has been an Oberlin tradition since the early 2000s. Community residents and college students make floats, wear costumes, and march through Tappan Square.
Kendall Lawn Chair Drill Team, Big Parade 2014
Photo from the Big Parade 2014. The Big Parade has been an Oberlin tradition since the early 2000s. Community residents and college students make floats, wear costumes, and march through Tappan Square.
Shark and Whale, Big Parade 2014
Photo from the Big Parade 2014. The Big Parade has been an Oberlin tradition since the early 2000s. Community residents and college students make floats, wear costumes, and march through Tappan Square.
Boys watching Big Parade 2014 from one of the Oberlin Rocks
Photo from the Big Parade 2014. The Big Parade has been an Oberlin tradition since the early 2000s. Community residents and college students make floats, wear costumes, and march through Tappan Square.
Orca, Big Parade 2014
Photo from the Big Parade 2014. The Big Parade has been an Oberlin tradition since the early 2000s. Community residents and college students make floats, wear costumes, and march through Tappan Square.
Big Parade 2014, Kendall Precision Lawn Chair Drill Team
The Kendall Precision Lawn Chair Drill Team at the Big Parade, 2014. Kendall is a retirement community in Oberlin. Every year residents come out and do a synchronized routine set to music with their lawn chairs.
Want a Drink, Anybody?
A lesson plan about temperance designed for 8th Grade US history class. In this lesson students will evaluate several primary source documents which originated during the Temperance Movement as they explore ways that society and its prejudices…
Perspectives on Women's Suffrage
"Students explore how events throughout the women’s suffrage movement shaped public opinion about women’s role in society and their rights. They conduct research to make claims – supported with evidence – about the impact of individual events on…
Antoinette Brown Blackwell
The first women in the United States to be ordained as a minister by a recognized religious denomination, Antoinette Brown Blackwell was a lifelong crusader for women's rights. A graduate of Oberlin College, she also advocated against slavery and for…
Lucy Stone
In 1847, Lucy Stone graduated from Oberlin College, becoming the first women from Massachusetts to earn a bachelor's degree. Stone was a staunch advocate of both abolition and women's rights and she became one of the most important 19th century…
Staging an Abolitionist Society Convention
An article that offers a lesson plan for guiding middle school students through a historic role-playing exercise where they are taking part in an abolitionist society convention.
Intersections: Recovering the Genius of Shirley Graham Du Bois
American history is full of hidden histories, especially when it comes to the histories of women, specifically those of women of color. This book aims to unpack the “many lives” of Shirley Graham Du Bois, who was a woman of mixed race born in…
Burrell-King House Historic Marker
Marks the site of the house built by Jabez Burrell, an important local abolitionist, and Henry Churchill King, who was president of Oberlin College from 1902-1927. Erected in 2002 by The Ohio Bicentennial Commission. The Longaberger Company. Oberlin…
Downtown Oberlin Historic District Historical Marker
Erected 2008 by the City of Oberlin Historic Preservation Commission, Oberlin Heritage Center, and The Ohio Historical Society.
Antoinette Brown Blackwell and the First Church of Oberlin Historic Marker
Marker about the history of First Church and Antoinette Brown Blackwell, an 1847 graduate of Oberlin's Ladies Department and one of the first women ordained as a Christian minister. Erected in 2014 by 2014 by the First Church in Oberlin, United…
Oberlin College and Community / Abolitionism in Oberlin Marker
Historic marker erected by the Ohio Bicentennial Commission, the Longaberger Co, the Oberlin Heritage Center / O.H.I.O, and the Ohio Historical Society. Front of maker is about the founding of the Oberlin College and community of Oberlin and the back…
Chalk Walk, 2008, Oberlin in Chalk
Photo of a person drawing the Oberlin College logo in red chalk on a sidewalk.
2016-11-29, Oberlin Rock, Ring the Bells that Still Can Ring
The Oberlin Rock painted with the phrase, "Ring the Bells that Still Can Ring," in the aftermath of the 2016 election victory of Donald Trump
Charles Grandison Finney
Charles Grandison Finney was the leading evangelist of the Second Great Awakening. He began teaching theology at Oberlin in 1835 and served as Oberlin College president between 1851 and 1865. He was also the pastor at Oberlin's First Congregational…
1963, Oberlin Rock, Easter Bunny
One of three boulders on Tappan Square that is regularly painted with messages. The title of the image conveys the sentiment.
2005-05, Oberlin Rock, Bob the Builder
One of three boulders on Tappan Square that is regularly painted with messages. The title of the image conveys the sentiment.
2010-03-07, Oberlin Rock, Dr. Seuss Day
One of three boulders on Tappan Square that is regularly painted with messages.
1962-12, Oberlin Rock, Santa
A photo from 1962 of five first year students with the rock they decorated as Santa Claus. At that point, decorating the boulders on Tappan Square was still considered an act of vandalism and the Oberlin Tribune reported on December 18, 1962 that the…
2006-09-06, Oberlin Rock, Stripey
Two pictures from 2006 of the Class of 1898 boulder painted with black and white stripes.
2008-06-01, Oberlin Rock, The Old Guitarist
Three pictures of a rock depicting Pablo Picasso's 1903 work, "The Old Guitarist," painted by two members of the Oberlin High School Art Club on May 29, 2008
Class of 1898 digging up the 1898 boulder
A photo of men from the Oberlin College class of 1898 digging up the boulder that now sits on Tappan Square across from the Conservatory.
Class of 1898 Boulder
The boulder that the Class of 1898 pull out of Plumb Creek, dragged to Tappan Square, and presented as a gift to the college. The plaque reads: GLACIAL BOULDER OF GRANITOID GNEISS FROM EASTERN CANADA EXCAVATED FROM TEN FEET BELOW THE SURFACE AT THE…
Tappan Square Boulder Excavation by the Class of 1898
A photo of the boulder that was excavated by the Oberlin College Class of 1898 and placed on Tappan Square, across from the Conservatory. The class presented the boulder as their gift to the college. Since 1962, the 1898 boulder has been one of the…
1967, Oberlin Rock, Property of Oberlin College
One of the many painted versions of the Class of 1898 Boulder taken during the 1967-1968 academic year.
2014-12-18, Oberlin Rock, Welcome New Obies
Photo by Tanya Rosen-Jones '97
Wilson Bruce Evans
Wilson Bruce Evans was a leading member of Oberlin's 19th century African American community. He and his brother, Henry Evans, moved their families to Oberlin from North Carolina in 1854. The two men ran a successful carpentry business in town.…
2009-11-21, Oberlin Rock, Suzanne for President OCOPE
One of three boulders on Tappan Square that is regularly painted with messages. The title of the image conveys the sentiment.
2010-5-4, Oberlin Rock, George and Julia at Kulas
Advertisement for a concert at Kulas Hall in May 2010
2010-7-5, Oberlin Rock, OSAS Fabulouso
One of three boulders on Tappan Square that is regularly painted with messages. The title of the image conveys the sentiment.
2010-6, Oberlin Rock, Hug Me I'm Emo
One of three boulders on Tappan Square that is regularly painted with messages. The title of the image conveys the sentiment.
2010-8-8, Oberlin Rock, Arby G.
One of three boulders on Tappan Square that is regularly painted with messages. The title of the image conveys the sentiment.
2010-5-31, Oberlin Rock, Thousands Died for our Freedom
Oberlin Rock painted in honor of Memorial Day 2010
2010-8-30, Oberlin Rock, Exco 119
One of three boulders on Tappan Square that is regularly painted with messages. The title of the image conveys the sentiment.
2010-9-3, Oberlin Rock, Welcome Back My Minions
One of three boulders on Tappan Square that is regularly painted with messages. The title of the image conveys the sentiment.
2010-6, Oberlin Rock, Good-bye Prospect, Hello Langston!
Oberlin High School Class of 2017 celebrates their graduation from Prospect Elementary School and their advance to Langston Middle School by decorating all three Tappan Square rocks.
2010-7-9, Oberlin Rock, Credo
Several pictures of rocks painted by participants in the 2010 Credo summer music program for young musicians.