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C−History
History · Oberlin

Oberlin’s post office opened in 1890, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Oberlin was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Its Register listing is the Allen Parish Courthouse.

1890first post office
1on the National Register
0.2%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Oberlin began

When was Oberlin founded?

1890

The Oberlin post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Moeling (1908), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 1,402136 years

How historic is Oberlin?

C−

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Oberlin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Oberlin’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oberlin is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oberlin’s overall grade.
Founding era1890, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.2% of homes (±0.5) · typical LA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 5.5 per 10,000 residents · typical LA town 3.8 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 24%
NewerOlder

Louisiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Louisiana town has 3.8 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Oberlin’s 5.5 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Louisiana 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 D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Oberlin are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Oberlin, and 6 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oberlin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oberlin’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Oberlin’s post office has been open since 1890. Another post office, Moeling, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Oberlin
1890–today
Moeling
1908–1917
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BernardElderFordsHoustonLe JeuneMoeling
Gone or out of use
Lyles Gas Fieldoilfield

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

The story so far

Oberlin, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Oberlin yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Oberlin is a town in and the parish seat of Allen Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Oberlin had a population of 1,402. The town is named after Johann Friedrich Oberlin. Oberlin was the home of Ernest S. Clements, a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate and, later, the Louisiana Public Service Commission. He ran unsuccessfully in 1944 for governor of Louisiana.

Its first post office opened in 1890. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,770 to 1,402 (-21%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Oberlin, 1890 to 1947

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Oberlin post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908Post officeThe Moeling post office opens
  5. 1912BuiltAllen Parish Courthouse is built
  6. 1917Post officeThe Moeling post office closes
  7. 1944Born hereHoyle Granger is born here
  8. 1947Born herePreston Frank is born here
By decade

Oberlin, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Slowinski's Corn Snake2008Slowinski's Corn SnakeOberlin Water Tower, Oberlin, LA IMG 10802008Oberlin Water Tower, Oberlin, LA IMG 1080Oberlin High School, Oberlin, LA IMG 10792008Oberlin High School, Oberlin, LA IMG 1079Downtown Oberlin, LA IMG 10762008Downtown Oberlin, LA IMG 1076LAMap-doton-Oberlin2004LAMap-doton-Oberlin
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
1981
Allen Parish Courthouse
Allen Parish Courthouse, built 1912
Buildings
Allen Parish CourthouseBuilt 1912

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Oberlin

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

See all →
H
Hoyle GrangerAmerican football player · b. 1944
P
Preston FrankAmerican accordionist · b. 1947

Questions about Oberlin’s history

What year was Oberlin founded?

The Oberlin post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Oberlin rank for history?

Oberlin is more historic than 24% 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 Allen Parish Courthouse (listed 1981).

How old are the homes in Oberlin?

0.2% of Oberlin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1989.

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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.