Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Oberlin

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Oberlin

Oberlin’s post office opened in 1883, and 65% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1906 on.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
65%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Oberlin’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Oberlin began

When was Oberlin founded?

1883

The Oberlin post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 670143 years
Founding year: the first Oberlin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Oberlin’s homes were built before 1938.On the map since 19067 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1998. Watch Oberlin change.
★ 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
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewInstitutional structures by Gilbert.] […: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
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.

Its first post office opened in 1883. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 588 to 670 (+14%).

On the map

Oberlin on the map, 1906 to 1998

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 1906 USGS mapOberlin on the 1943 USGS mapOberlin on the 1956 USGS mapOberlin on the 1963 USGS mapOberlin on the 1972 USGS mapOberlin on the 1987 USGS mapOberlin on the 1998 USGS map1906New Cumberland 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.

By decade

Oberlin, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Institutional structures by Gilbert.] [Sketches1912Institutional structures by Gilbert.] [Sketches
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
Today3 recent
PA 441 nb in Oberlin (2), July 20252025PA 441 nb in Oberlin (2), July 2025PA 441 nb in Oberlin (1), July 20252025PA 441 nb in Oberlin (1), July 2025Crossroads Christian Ministries, Oberlin, PA, July 20252025Crossroads Christian Ministries, Oberlin, PA, July 20…
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.

Institutional structures by Gilbert.] [Sketches
Retake this viewInstitutional structures by Gilbert.] [Sketches, 1912

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
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

EnhautIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBresslerIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Oberlin’s history

What year was Oberlin founded?

The Oberlin post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (1) and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.