A history of Oberlin,
since 1833
Postcards, papers and photographs of Oberlin from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Oberlin was founded in 1833 by two Presbyterian ministers, John Jay Shipherd and Philo P. Stewart. The pair had become friends while spending the summer of 1832 together in nearby Elyria and discovered a shared dissatisfaction with what they saw as the lack of strong Christian morals among the settlers of the American West. Their proposed solution was to create a religious community that would more closely adhere to Biblical commandments, along with a school for training Christian missionaries who would eventually spread throughout the American frontier. The two decided to name their community after J. F. Oberlin (1740–1826), an Alsatian minister whose pedagogical achievements in a poor and remote area had greatly impressed and inspired them.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Oberlin’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewOberlin College reception, group …, 1890: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Oberlin, decade by decade
1990s
11 historic places in Oberlin
Oberlin has 11 listings on the National Register, and they protect 41 historic buildings, because Downtown Oberlin Historic District alone counts 32. 3 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier, which fewer than 3% of listings reach.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Oberlin College reception, group photograph (1890) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom the Library of Congress (11) and the National Register (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.