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BHistory
History · Oberlin

Oberlin dates to 1872, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Bank of Oberlin. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1890.

1872founded
1on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Oberlin’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Oberlin began, and where its name came from

When was Oberlin founded?

1872

Oberlin dates its founding to 1872 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 976 in 18902020 census: 1,644154 years

How did Oberlin get its name?

Oberlin was named after Oberlin, Ohio.

How historic is Oberlin?

B

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1873. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Oberlin’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oberlin is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oberlin’s overall grade.
Founding era1872, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194029.9% of homes (±8.3) · typical KS town 10.3% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 5.8 per 10,000 residents · typical KS town 5.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 63%
NewerOlder

Kansas towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kansas town has 5.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Oberlin’s 5.8 sits near the middle of its state (49% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.3 points). Two sources give 1872.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Oberlin’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Boom and bustPeaked at 2,387 in 1980; 1,644 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1904 to 1920, drew every building in Oberlin.Old housesHalf of Oberlin’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · People over time

Oberlin, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,387

Peaked at 2,387 in 1980; 1,644 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Oberlin’s Wikipedia page.

Every building

Oberlin, building by building, 1904–1920

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Oberlin fire insurance map, 1904, sheet 21904Sheet 2 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Oberlin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oberlin.

Read it all →

Oberlin was platted in 1878. It was named after Oberlin, Ohio. Its first post office was established in April, 1878, and the city was incorporated in 1885.

On September 30, 1878, Northern Cheyenne, fleeing from Indian Territory to their homes in the north during the Northern Cheyenne Exodus, attacked homesteaders near Oberlin, then a tiny hamlet. The raid's victims are commemorated in the "Last Indian Raid in Kansas" room of the Decatur County Museum, and by a monument in the town cemetery.

On April 29, 1942, an extremely violent tornado swept away three farms south of Oberlin, killing 15 people. Oberlin was spared from direct hit, as it passed 1 mi (1.6 km) east of city. This tornado was retrospectively rated F5 on the Fujita scale.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Oberlin, 1872 to 1980

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872
    FoundingOberlin is established
  3. 1873Post officeThe Sappa post office opens
  4. 1878Post officeThe Sappa post office closes
  5. 1878Post officeThe Oberlin post office opens
  6. 1880Born hereCora E. Simpson is born here
  7. 1884Born hereBrun Campbell is born here
  8. 1886BuiltBank of Oberlin is built
  9. 20th century
  10. 1908In the archiveThe Only Remianing Sod School House, in Decatur County, Kansas
  11. 1916Born hereElmer Hackney is born here
  12. 1917In the archiveKansas - Oberlin through Republican River
  13. 1921Born hereRichard Dean Rogers is born here
  14. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  15. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 2,387
By decade

Oberlin, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s5 items
The Only Remianing Sod School House, in Decatur County, Kansas1908The Only Remianing Sod School House, in Decatur Count…The only remaining sod school house in Decatur County, Kansas1908The only remaining sod school house in Decatur County…The only remaining sod school house in Decatur County, Kansas1908The only remaining sod school house in Decatur County…Kansas - Oberlin through Republican River1917Kansas - Oberlin through Republican RiverKansas - Oberlin through Republican River1917Kansas - Oberlin through Republican River
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
FEMA - 27447 - Photograph by Liz Roll taken on 01-13-2007 in Kansas2007FEMA - 27447 - Photograph by Liz Roll taken on 01-13-…FEMA - 27446 - Photograph by Liz Roll taken on 01-14-2007 in Kansas2007FEMA - 27446 - Photograph by Liz Roll taken on 01-14-…FEMA - 27444 - Photograph by Liz Roll taken on 01-14-2007 in Kansas2007FEMA - 27444 - Photograph by Liz Roll taken on 01-14-…Oberlin skyline2001Oberlin skyline
On the map

Oberlin on the map, 1951 to 1965

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Oberlin. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Oberlin on the 1951 USGS mapOberlin on the 1965 USGS map1951Oberlin sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Oberlin.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

The Only Remianing Sod School House, in Decatur County, Kansas
Retake this viewThe Only Remianing Sod School House, in Decatur County, Kansas, 1908

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Oberlin’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Oberlin

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1994
Bank of Oberlin
Bank of Oberlin, built 1886
Buildings
Bank of OberlinBuilt 1886

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Oberlin

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
B
Brun CampbellAmerican ragtime composer · b. 1884
E
Elmer HackneyAmerican football player · b. 1916
Richard Dean RogersDistrict Judge · b. 1921
Cora E. SimpsonAmerican nurse and nursing educator · b. 1880
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Oberlin’s post office has been open since 1878. Another post office, Sappa, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Sappa
1873–1878
Oberlin
1878–today
18701950today
1cemetery inside Oberlin
Oberlin

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Oberlin’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThe Only Remianing Sod School House, in…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Liberty TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCenter TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOberlin TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Oberlin’s history

What year was Oberlin founded?

In 1872, according to Wikidata. Oberlin’s post office opened in 1873, and the census of 1890 counted 976 people here.

How does Oberlin rank for history?

Oberlin is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Oberlin?

One place: the Bank of Oberlin (listed 1994).

How old are the homes in Oberlin?

30% of Oberlin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.3 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1956.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (8), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.