Description: An image of the early campus of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio. Oberlin College and the town of Oberlin were founded by Presbyterian ministers, John J. Shipherd and Philo P. Stewart in 1833. In 1835, it was the first college to admit women and black students. A liberal arts college, it is connected to the Oberlin conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06413
Subjects: Oberlin College; Universities and colleges Ohio; African American Ohioans
Places: Oberlin (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: Original description reads: "Works Progress Administration in Ohio. Federal Writers Project. 902 Municipal Building Akron. Sept 11, 1937. Lorain County. POI & Educational Institutions. First Congregational Church-Oberlin, Ohio (1842- ). See 'Oberlin College Alumni Catalogue 1833 - 1936' Page 20. for full description of this church. Dist. 6 files." "Erected 1842 A.D." can be seen, in stone, above the main entrance to the square brick building. The construction of the First Congregational Church was begun in 1842, and the building was enclosed that year. The Oberlin College commencement exercises were held in the building in August, 1843, although it was still unfinished. It was completed in August, 1844, and at that time it was the largest building west of the Allegheny mountains. Its total cost was $12,000. It was built of brick and was characterized by rare simplicity and proportion. the audience room furnished seating capacity for 1400 people, and upon many occasions more than 2000 people have been crowded into it. It was used for church services, the Commencement and other public exercises of the Institute and College, and for town meetings. It was the church home for all Oberlin people from 1843 to 1860. In 1860 a membership of 1545 seemed to make necessary a division, resulting in the organization of a second church, called the Second Congreational Church. In 1908, and again in 1927, extensive repairs, alterations and replacements were made. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F16_001_1
Subjects: Church buildings--Ohio; Oberlin College
Places: Oberlin (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image shows the campus of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. The institution was founded by Presbyterian minister John L. Shipherd in 1832. Shipherd planned for the institution to admit both men and women. The first women formally admitted to the college program enrolled in 1837. The four women who enrolled that year made Oberlin College the first coeducational college in the United States. Three of the four women graduated with A.B. degrees in 1841. They were the first women in the United States to receive this degree. Oberlin College was also one of the first institutions of higher education to admit African Americans. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06515
Subjects: Women--Education - Ohio; Oberlin College; African Americans--History
Places: Oberlin (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: Aerial view of Oberlin College, founded in 1833 in Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio. The photograph was taken ca. 1920-1929. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00371
Subjects: Oberlin College; Cultural Ohio--Education
Places: Oberlin (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image shows an aerial view of Oberlin College's campus in Oberlin, Ohio. Oberlin College was founded in 1832 by Presbyterian minister John L. Shipherd. It quickly grew, primarily due to the support of Charles Grandison Finney, one of the leading religious revivalists of the day. Shipherd intended for the college to educate both men and women. The first women formally admitted to the college program enrolled in 1837. The four women who enrolled that year made Oberlin College the first coeducational college in the United States. Three of the four women graduated with A.B. degrees in 1841. They were the first women in the United States to receive this degree. Oberlin College was also one of the first institutions of higher education to admit African Americans. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06514
Subjects: Education; Oberlin College; African Americans--History; Women--Education - Ohio
Places: Oberlin (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows two children sitting on a swing set in their backyard in Oberlin, Ohio, and is titled "Ohio Playground." The image was submitted by photographer John G. Kenney of Elyria, Ohio, in the Professional category of the Spirit of Ohio Bicentennial Photo Contest. In August 1976, the Ohio American Revolution Bicentennial Advisory Committee (OARBAC) began the Spirit of Ohio Bicentennial Photo Contest as part of a larger effort in Ohio to celebrate the 1976 American Bicentennial. The contest was meant to document "the spirit and character of the people and places which represent Ohio during [the] bicentennial year," and to create a permanent photographic archive of the year's festivity for use by future researchers. Both professional and amateur photographers submitted over 500 photographs for consideration, all taken within the state between January 1 and December 31, 1976. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA2734AV_B03F06_04_01
Subjects: American Revolution Bicentennial (1976); Playgrounds;
Places: Oberlin (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio);
 

Description: Dated ca. 1860, this is the earliest known photograph of Oberlin College's campus. A note on the photograph's reverse reads "The view includes two buildings: on the left the Chapel; and on the right Tappan Hall, which contained dormitories for men and classrooms." This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B05F02_034_1
Subjects: Education; Universities and colleges; Oberlin College; College campuses; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Oberlin (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of two children playing around a swing set in Oberlin, Ohio, and titled "Spring Day." The image was submitted by photographer John G. Kenney of Elyria, Ohio, in the Professional category of the Spirit of Ohio Bicentennial Photo Contest. In August 1976, the Ohio American Revolution Bicentennial Advisory Committee (OARBAC) began the Spirit of Ohio Bicentennial Photo Contest as part of a larger effort in Ohio to celebrate the 1976 American Bicentennial. The contest was meant to document "the spirit and character of the people and places which represent Ohio during [the] bicentennial year," and to create a permanent photographic archive of the year's festivity for use by future researchers. Both professional and amateur photographers submitted over 500 photographs for consideration, all taken within the state between January 1 and December 31, 1976. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA2734AV_B03F06_03_01
Subjects: American Revolution Bicentennial (1976); Playgrounds;
Places: Oberlin (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph depicting the Oberlin Rescuers at the Cuyahoga County Jail in April 1859. These twenty men were arrested upon attempting to free an alleged slave from his captors. The event became known as the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue. The image was collected by Ohio State University professor Wilbur H. Siebert (1866-1961). Siebert began researching the Underground Railroad in the 1890s as a way to interest his students in history. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03156
Subjects: Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights; Underground Railroad--Ohio; Antislavery movements--Ohio--History--19th century; Abolitionists;
Places: Cuyahoga County (Ohio); Oberlin (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverse reads: "Code - D10; Class - Colleges & Art Galleries; Ident - Art Museum, Oberlin; Location - Oberlin." Words engraved on the front of the building are "The Fine Arts A Heritage From The Past", " To the Arts A Gift to the Future "The Cause of Art is the Cause of the People." Italian Renaissance-style building designed by Cass Gilbert and named after its founder, Dr. Dudley Peter Allen (B.A. 1875), a distinguished graduate and trustee of Oberlin College. The complex of buildings designed in 1917 represents an eclectic dialogue between Tuscan Renaissance and Midwestern vernacular architectural styles. First college art museum west of the Alleghenies The building features a colonnade across the front and is topped with terracotta roof tiles. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B05F02_035_1
Subjects: Architecture--Ohio--Pictorial works.; Education; Universities and colleges; Oberlin College
Places: Oberlin (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: James Harris Fairchild (1817-1902) harbored fugitive slaves in Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio, while he was president of Oberlin College. This cabinet card is from E. Decker at 143 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio. The image was collected by Ohio State University professor Wilbur H. Siebert (1866-1961). Siebert began researching the Underground Railroad in the 1890s as a way to interest his students in history. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03155
Subjects: Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights; Underground Railroad--Ohio; Antislavery movements--Ohio--History--19th century; Abolitionists;
Places: Oberlin (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: Completed in 1915, this Cass Gilbert designed building houses Oberlin's top administrative offices: the Office of the President, the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Secretary of the College, and the Vice President for Finance. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B05F02_036_1
Subjects: Architecture--Ohio--Pictorial works.; Buildings; Education; Universities and colleges
Places: Oberlin (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)