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AHistory
History · Oberlin

Oberlin dates to 1833, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 93% of U.S. towns · #104 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

11 places in town are on the National Register, among them 3 National Historic Landmarks and a historic district with 32 buildings. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1860.

1833founded
11on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
33famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Oberlin’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Oberlin began

When was Oberlin founded?

1833

Oberlin dates its founding to 1833 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 2,115 in 18602020 census: 8,555193 years

How historic is Oberlin?

A

More historic than 93% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1834.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 93% of U.S. towns, #104 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oberlin’s overall grade.
Founding era1833, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194026.8% of homes (±6.5) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register11 listings, 41 historic buildings, 49.2 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 93%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 90%

Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Oberlin’s 49.2 sits above most of its state (88% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 41 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.5 points). Two sources give 1833.

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.

A National Historic Landmark11 places on the National Register, 3 of them National Historic Landmarks.Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1922, drew every building in Oberlin.On the map since 19013 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1979. Watch Oberlin change.A historic districtThe Downtown Oberlin Historic District takes in 32 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

11 listings protect 41 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 3 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier.

places listed
11
National Historic Landmarks
3
Oberlin College
historic buildings protected
41
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Oberlin College
Westervelt HallCongregational Church of ChristChrist Episcopal ChurchOberlin Lake Shore And Michigan Southern StationBurrell-King HouseFrank Jewett HouseOberlin Gas Lighting Company Gasholder HouseDowntown Oberlin Historic DistrictOberlin College, built 1833★John Mercer Langston House★Wilson Bruce Evans House★
BuildingsDistrictsSitesStructures★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Gothic Revival3
Queen Anne3
Italianate3
Greek Revival3
Neo-Classical2
Tudor Revival2
★ Landmark
Oberlin CollegeGothic Revival · Built 1833
★ Landmark
John Mercer Langston HouseGothic Revival
★ Landmark
Wilson Bruce Evans HouseItalianate
Westervelt HallGothic
Congregational Church of ChristGreek Revival
Christ Episcopal ChurchEarly Romanesque Revival
Oberlin Lake Shore And Michigan Southern StationGothic Revival
Burrell-King HouseGreek Revival
All 11 listings
Frank Jewett HouseBuilding · listed 1979Oberlin Gas Lighting Company Gasholder HouseStructure · listed 1998Downtown Oberlin Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2003

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

Every building

Oberlin, building by building, 1884–1922

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, 1884, sheet 21884Sheet 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.

On the map

Oberlin on the map, 1901 to 1979

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 1901 USGS mapOberlin on the 1960 USGS mapOberlin on the 1979 USGS map1901Oberlin 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.

The story

How Oberlin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oberlin.

Read 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.

ChaptersAbolitionism

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Oberlin, 1833 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1833
    FoundingOberlin is established
  3. 1833BuiltOberlin College is built
  4. 1834Post officeThe Russia post office opens
  5. 1835Post officeThe Russia post office closes
  6. 1835Post officeThe Oberlin post office opens
  7. 1890In the archiveOberlin College reception, group photograph
  8. 20th century
  9. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1905In the archiveOberlin College, 1905
  11. 1941Born hereDavid Lewis is born here
  12. 1961Born hereEllen R. Stofan is born here
  13. 1965Born hereLynn Shelton is born here
  14. 1965LandmarkOberlin College named a National Historic Landmark
  15. 1973Born hereJason Molina is born here
  16. 1975LandmarkJohn Mercer Langston House named a National Historic Landmark
  17. 1997LandmarkWilson Bruce Evans House named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Oberlin, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1900s11 items
Oberlin College reception, group photograph1890Oberlin College reception, group photographOberlin College reception, group photograph1890Oberlin College reception, group photographOberlin College, 19051905Oberlin College, 1905Warners Hall1905Warners HallWarner Gymnasium1905Warner GymnasiumMemorial Arch1905Memorial ArchPeters Hall1905Peters HallSpear Library1905Spear LibraryThe College Arboretum1905The College ArboretumSeverance Chemical Laboratory1905Severance Chemical LaboratoryTalcott Corner1905Talcott Corner
1910s–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
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.

Oberlin College reception, group photograph
Retake this viewOberlin College reception, group photograph, 1890

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
People over time

Oberlin, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000190019502000Peak: 8,761

Between 2,115 and 8,761 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

33 famous people were born in Oberlin

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

See all →
David LewisAmerican philosopher · b. 1941
Lynn SheltonAmerican filmmaker · b. 1965
Jason MolinaAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1973
Ellen R. StofanUnder Secretary for Science and Research at the… · b. 1961
C
Charles Henry Tyler TownsendAmerican entomologist · b. 1863
C
Claude Fayette BragdonAmerican architect · b. 1866
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Oberlin’s post office has been open since 1835. Another post office, Russia, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Russia
1834–1835
Oberlin
1835–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Robin ParkShiperd Circle
Gone or out of use
Glorious Church of God in ChristchurchOberlin Business Collegeschool
1cemetery inside Oberlin
Westwood

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
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewOberlin College reception, group photog…: 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.

New Russia TownshipIts storyCPittsfield Township1 historic placeA−

Questions about Oberlin’s history

What year was Oberlin founded?

In 1833, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Oberlin’s post office opened in 1834, and the census of 1860 counted 2,115 people here.

How does Oberlin rank for history?

Oberlin is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #104 of 993 in Ohio. 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?

11 listings, 3 of them National Historic Landmarks: 8 buildings, 1 historic district, the Downtown Oberlin Historic District, with 32 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 1 structure. 41 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Oberlin?

27% of Oberlin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1969.

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 the Library of Congress (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (11), 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.