Ohio
Exploring the intersection of town and gown in Oberlin, one of Ohio’s best small towns
OBERLIN, Ohio – There’s probably no other place in Ohio – maybe the country – where town and gown are so closely aligned.
Indeed, Oberlin the city and Oberlin the college were both founded in 1833 by the same man, John Jay Shipherd, who traveled south from Elyria with fellow minister Philo Stewart, looking for land to create a perfect society.
They named the place Oberlin, after a French writer who never set foot in Ohio.
Fast forward nearly 200 years and ultra-liberal Oberlin, with a population of about 8,000, may not be everyone’s definition of a perfect society. But it is a pretty terrific destination for close-to-home travelers seeking outsized doses of culture and history in a quaint, easy-to-navigate package.
There’s a lovely art museum here, nightly concerts thanks to the college’s conservatory, history tours, even a Frank Lloyd Wright house – all this, and a downtown filled with more restaurants and shops than you’ll likely have time to sample in a day or two.
Located about 35 miles west of Cleveland, it’s a great day trip for Northeast Ohioans, or, if you’re itching for an overnight, a lovely weekend away.
Monroe House, built in 1866, serves as headquarters of the Oberlin Heritage Center, which offers numerous history tours through town.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
Strolling College Street in downtown Oberlin on a warm April afternoon.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
A community mural project, We Are Oberlin, was completed in 2021 on the back of the Oberlin Bookstore.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
Exploring the history
I started my recent tour at the Ohio Heritage Center, located inside the 1866-era Monroe House, the long-time family home of James Monroe (“not President Monroe,” I was told), an abolitionist and 1846 graduate of Oberlin College.
The school, widely revered as the first college in the U.S. to admit both female and Black students, didn’t quite start out as the liberal bastion that it would become, according to Pat Price, a tour guide at the Heritage Center.
The enrollment of Black students, in particular, was controversial, a condition insisted upon by dozens of transfer students from Cincinnati’s Lane Seminary, who left southern Ohio in the 1830s due of a dispute over slavery.
“It was hotly contested,” said Price, a retired English teacher at Oberlin High School. “It passed by one vote.”
The community’s future set, it didn’t take long for Oberlin to establish itself as a safe space for runaway slaves in the years leading up to the Civil War.
During the peak years of the Underground Railroad, Price said there was no need for secret houses to hide people here. “We were integrated. We all just lived together.”
That is, until 1850 and the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act, which gave slave owners the right to come into free states and recapture their property.
In one well-known case, regularly recounted in high school history books, a former slave, John Price, had been living in Oberlin for several years when he was captured by slave catchers in town. Held at a hotel in nearby Wellington until he could be transported back to Kentucky, Price was freed by a mob of Oberlin townspeople, who surrounded the hotel and helped him escape.
“He was taken to Canada and we never heard from him again,” said Price. “We hope he had a happy life.”
The Oberlin Heritage Center offers its Oberlin Origins guided tour, which includes the Monroe House and a nearby 1836-era one-room schoolhouse, on Thursdays and Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; cost is $6. Later this month, the center will commence its guided outdoor history walks, on themes including Oberlin’s abolitionist history, architecture, the Civil War to civil rights and more. Self-guided tours are also available. For a complete list of tour options: oberlinheritagecenter.org
The Allen Memorial Art Museum in downtown Oberlin opened in 1917, designed by Cass Gilbert, who also designed the U.S. Supreme Court building.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
Inside the Allen Memorial Art Museum, owned by Oberlin College.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
The Weltzheimer/Johnson House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, in Oberlin.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
Art and architecture
After a tasty lunch at Main Street Grille, I headed to the Allen Memorial Art Museum, considered one of the premier college art museums in the country.
It’s a relatively small space – just over 100,000 square feet – but can easily fill an afternoon, with a collection of more than 16,000 works, from ancient to modern. Among the displayed pieces: art by Picasso (“Glass of Absinthe,” 1911; and “Head of a Woman,” 1906;) Rodin (“The Prodigal Son,” 1905); Chagall, Cezanne, Modigliani and numerous others.
But it wasn’t just the blockbuster pieces that attracted my attention.
Among the works that I stood and studied: “Portrait of Two Girls,” from the early 19th century, featuring two girls, side by side, one Black and one white. The painting is described as “the earliest known interracial portrait in the history of American painting, in which both sitters are depicted as equals.”
I also admired the marble bust of Dr. Dudley Peter Allen, an Oberlin native and 1875 graduate of the college who became one of the first physicians in the country to specialize in surgery. In 1894, he married Clevelander Elisabeth Severance and the two helped to develop the plan for the museum, which opened in 1917 and is named in Allen’s honor.
The art museum is also well known for its Art Rental program, where college students can rent a piece of art for $5 and display it in their dorm room for the semester.
The museum maintains a special collection of about 400 works in the program, which features some heavy hitters, including pieces from Picasso and Matisse.
“We’ve never had a loss,” noted Katherine Solender, interim director of the museum, although frames do occasionally get damaged when art falls off dorm walls.
The art museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday; closed Mondays and major holidays. It is free. Information: amam.oberlin.edu
The Art Rental program was started in 1940 by Ellen Johnson, a well-known Oberlin art history professor.
Another Johnson legacy is across campus at the Weltzheimer/Johnson House, a Frank Lloyd Wright home completed in 1949 for Margaret and Charles Weltzheimer. It was acquired in 1968 by Johnson, who bequeathed the home to the college in 1992.
The house is typically open to the public on the first Sunday of the month, April through November. However, the home is scheduled to have its roof repaired this summer and will be closed for several months, starting in early June. For information: amam.oberlin.edu/flw-house
Read more: Oberlin’s Frank Lloyd Wright house to close this summer for repairs
Strolling Main Street in downtown Oberlin.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
In downtown Oberlin.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
Strolling Tappan Square, a 13-acre park in the center of Oberlin.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
Dinner and a show
After an art-filled afternoon, I perused several of the shops in downtown Oberlin, which include numerous college town staples: Two bookstores (MindFair Books and the Oberlin Bookstore), a bike shop (Oberlin Bike Shop), a record store (Hanson Records), a brewery (Haven Brewing), several thrift stores, gift shops and coffee shops.
Also in town: Watson Hardware, established in 1895; and Ben Franklin, a classic five-and-dime store, an Oberlin tradition since 1935.
I had lots of good choices for dinner, including long-time favorites Lorenzo’s Pizzeria, Aladdin’s Eatery and The Feve. I opted for Thi Ni Thai, with terrific curries and noodle dishes.
There were also numerous options for after-dinner entertainment, which is one of the things I love about visiting college towns.
The Oberlin Percussion Group was playing at the conservatory, the Oberlin Horn Ensemble at Warner Concert Hall, there was a small jazz ensemble performing at the Cat in the Cream Coffeeshop, and the musical “Daddy Long Legs” at Kander Theater.
Also in town: the Apollo Theatre, an historic, 1913-era movie house that was purchased by the college in 2009 and is operated by Cleveland Cinemas. It was playing “A Minecraft Movie” and “The Accountant 2” during my visit.
All intriguing options, but I chose to walk back to the art museum, which was hosting a senior recital by violist Max Andrejco, who was terrific.
Afterward, I picked up dessert to-go at Aladdin’s and headed to my car for the trip home. Honestly, though, I could have stayed.
The Hotel at Oberlin, owned by the college, features 70 well-appointed rooms in the center of town.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
If you go: Oberlin
Where: Oberlin, 35 miles west of Cleveland in southern Lorain County, is easy to reach via the Ohio Turnpike, Ohio 2 and U.S. 20.
Staying overnight: The college opened the 70-room Hotel at Oberlin in 2016, with 70 well-appointed rooms and a well-regarded restaurant, 1833 (the year the town and college were founded). There are also several bed and breakfasts in town.
Also nearby: Common Ground Zipline Canopy Tours, Lorain County Metro Parks’ Carlisle and Vermilion River reservations, plus the North Coast Inland Trail, a multi-use bike and walking path that travels 29 miles through Lorain County and beyond.
The U.S. Bicentennial in 1976 was a monumental, year-long celebration marking the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Coming in the aftermath of the turbulent 1960s, the political disillusionment of the Watergate scandal and President Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974, and the capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese and the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, the Bicentennial served as a crucial moment of national healing.
The festivities culminated on the Fourth of July 1976, with spectacular events staged across the country. The most enduring legacy of the celebration in Columbus is Bicentennial Park, located in the Downtown riverfront area along the Scioto River.
Dedicated on July 4, 1976, this 4.7-acre green space was built to permanently commemorate the nation’s 200th birthday. The park’s initial centerpiece was a massive fountain system featuring four circular pools that could shoot water 60 feet into the air.
From May 22 to June 2, 1975, Columbus served as the 11th official stop for the American Freedom Train. This massive, steam-powered rolling museum carried more than 500 priceless historical artifacts – including copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution – across all 48 contiguous states.
The train was displayed at the Defense Construction Supply Center [DCSC] in Whitehall and drew massive crowds of local families. Columbus held a special distinction during the tour: it was one of only three cities nationwide where the “Splendid Spirit” car was included with the train.
Warren Motts, the founding director of Motts Military Museum in Groveport, traveled with the train for its entire 25,000-mile journey, capturing the official photos that documented this historic event.
Beyond these massive metropolitan events, the true spirit of the Bicentennial thrived at the grassroots level. The American Revolution Bicentennial Administration (ARBA) encouraged local communities to form their own committees, leading to thousands of unique municipal projects.
Towns across the nation hosted local parades, commissioned historical murals, dedicated new parks, and sealed time capsules intended for the tricentennial in 2076.
It also triggered a resurgence of interest in local history and genealogy, as everyday citizens sought to trace their own roots back to the nation’s founding eras.
The civic energy and patriotism generated by the 1976 celebrations also helped pave the way for other major local traditions. Just a few years later, in 1981, Columbus launched its annual Red, White & Boom! celebration, which grew into the largest Independence Day fireworks display in the Midwest—a tradition deeply rooted in the community pride revived during the Bicentennial era.
Get involved in America 250 at your library this year! Visit columbulibrary.org for a full list of America 250 events.
Angela O’Neal is Local History & Genealogy Manager with the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
NORTHEAST OHIO (WOIO) – Thousands are without power Friday after severe weather sweeps across Northeast Ohio counties, creating weather-related damage.
FirstEnergy reports more than 71,000 in Northeast Ohio are without power Friday night.
More than 22,000 are without power in Cuyahoga County.
The utility company reports that more than 700 are without power in Erie County.
Lake County reports over 1,000 outages, and Portage has over 4,000 outages.
Trumbull County is experiencing over 1,000, and Ashtabula reports over 3,000.
Lorain County is experiencing more than 3,000 reported outages, and Geauga County has more than 7,000.
Medina County reported more than 1,000.
Chardon fire crews field wave of storm calls
The Chardon Fire Department shared the calls it responded to concerning storm damage Friday evening.
Fire crews said they responded to a tree in a house at 127 Burlington Oval.
The department said a tree fell on a gas line, causing a gas leak at 408 Charleston Avenue.
Wires were reported down on South Claridon Road, closing State Route 44 near South Street.
Wires were reported down on a house near Irma and South Hambden.
Fire crews said a tree was reported down on a home at 306 North Hambden.
The department also said alarms went off at UH Geauga Hospital.
Downed wires also closed Auburn and Twing roads.
The department said power was out on the south side of Chardon City.
Another tree was reported to have fallen into a house at 109 Burlington Oval, but no injuries were reported.
Fire crews said an incident involving a tree in a house and electric lines was reported at 11396 Aquilla Road, but no injuries were reported.
Fallen tree takes out power line in Independence
The city of Independence said a downed tree took out a live power line on lower Stone Road.
The city asked the public to avoid the area because of the danger posed by live wires.
The city said FirstEnergy had been notified and both police and firefighters were on scene.
Downed wires prompt closures across Hambden
The Hambden Fire Department said Friday night it was dealing with multiple storm-related incidents.
Crews said Claridon Troy Road was closed between Route 608 and Chardon Windsor Road because of downed poles and wires.
Kenny Drive was closed south of Leaders Mobile Home Park because of downed wires across the road, according to fire crews.
Multiple wires were reported down on Route 6 near Cutts and Grant Street along the north side of the road.
The department said the public should use caution in areas with downed wires and poles and should not attempt to move any of the wires.
Anyone with an electrical emergency or who encounters downed wires is asked to call 9-1-1.
Hambden Fire said people should not call 9-1-1 to report an outage.
The department said FirstEnergy is aware of these issues and is working to fix them.
Check FirstEnergy’s, AEP’s, and Cleveland Public Power’s websites for the latest outage numbers.
These outages come after severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for multiple Northeast Ohio counties this evening and were extended until 10:45 p.m.
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Check back with the 19 News First Alert Weather team for the latest weather forecast.
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Friday, July 3
Downtown Columbus: Billed as the Midwest’s largest fireworks show, Red, White & BOOM! takes place along the Scioto Mile. The fireworks show starts at 10:00 p.m. More information can be found on the event’s website.
Bexley: Festivities at Capital University begin at 6:00 p.m., with a fireworks display starting at 10:00 p.m.
Buckeye Lake: The Buckeye Lake Area Star Spangled Tradition (BLASST) fireworks display will take place at approximately 10:00 p.m. The primary viewing area is at Fairfield Beach, Lake Shore Drive NE, Thornville.
Canal Winchester: First Friday at Loose Rail Brewing will feature a fireworks show at approximately 9:00 p.m. The brewery will also show Red, White & BOOM! on big screens.
Gahanna: Activities start at 5:00 p.m. at the Gahanna Municipal Golf Course and the fireworks show is at 10:00 p.m.
Newark: Central Ohio Technical College and Ohio State Newark campus will host festivities with live music and food trucks at the Martha Grace Reese Amphitheatre, culminating with a fireworks display at dusk (approximately 10:00 p.m.).
Pickerington: The city’s fireworks show starts at 10:00 p.m.
Reynoldsburg: Festivities begin at 6:00 p.m. at Civic Park, with fireworks starting at 9:45 p.m.
Saturday, July 4
Chillicothe: Fireworks are scheduled to begin at approximately 9:45 PM from the Yoctangee Park Annex.
Circleville: AMVETS Post 2256 will host food trucks, live music, and a fireworks display after dark.
Clintonville: Whetstone Park of Roses hosts a live music event followed by fireworks at 9:45 p.m.
Delaware: Fireworks will launch from the city’s Cherry Street property at 10:00 p.m.
Dublin: Independence Day Celebration activities wrap up with fireworks at 9:50 p.m. at Dublin Coffman High School.
Grove City: Fireworks will launch from Murfin Fields at 9:45 p.m.
Hilliard: Freedom Fest takes place at Roger Reynolds Municipal Park with fireworks starting around 9:45 p.m.
Lancaster: A full day of celebrations culminates with fireworks at dusk at the Fairfield County Fairgrounds.
Marysville: Fireworks at approximately 9:00 p.m. at the Union County Fairgrounds.
New Albany: The July 4th Festival ends with fireworks at 10:00 p.m. at New Albany High School.
Upper Arlington: The annual Party in the Park begins at 5:00 p.m. at Northam Park, followed by fireworks at 10:00 p.m.
Westerville: Evening festivities and food trucks can be found at the Westerville Sports Complex until the fireworks show begins at 10:00 p.m.
Worthington: The city’s celebration concludes with fireworks launched from Thomas Worthington High School at 10:00 p.m.
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