City of Oberlin Historic Landmarks


Glider-Papworth House 1905 270 North Professor Designed and built by Fred Glider, an Oberlin carpenter. His daughter, Margaret Papworth, administrative assistant in the Oberlin College Conservatory for 51 years, was born in the house and lived here all her life. House remains in its original form. Wood vernacular style.	Jewett House 1884 73 South Professor Home of Frank Fanning Jewett, Oberlin College chemistry professor and teacher of Charles Martin Hall, and his wife Frances Gulick Jewett, who wrote several books on personal and community hygiene. House now part of the Oberlin Heritage Center and open for tours. Architecture marks transition from Italianate to Queen Anne style.

Monroe House 1866 73 South Professor (rear) First Oberlin home of General Giles Shurtleff, town’s leading Civil War hero, later a classics professor at Oberlin College. After 1870 the home of James Monroe (see Monroe-Bosworth House, 1857). House now part of the Oberlin Heritage Center and open for tours. [The Oberlin Heritage Center] has its headquarters there. Fine example of Italianate style.	Little Red Schoolhouse 1837 73 1/2 South Professor First schoolhouse for children of Oberlin, originally built near site of First Church, later used as dwelling on South Main. Restored in 1958, moved to present site in 1997. Pioneer-era one-room school. House now part of the Oberlin Heritage Center and open to the public for tours.

Albert Johnson House 1885 216 South Professor Home of Albert H. Johnson, banker, railroad president, Oberlin’s most prominent capitalist. Now an Oberlin College dormitory. Elaborate example of Queen Anne style.	Dascomb House 1853-1854 227 South Professor Home of James Dascomb, Oberlin College science professor, whose wife, Marianne Dascomb, was head of college’s women’s department. House originally stood across the street on site of Albert Johnson House. Oberlin’s finest Gothic Revival house.

Prucha-Macha House c. 1873 288 South Professor P.R. Tobin, harness maker, the first identified owner of this house, lived here in 1873-1874. Long-term residents were Vaclav Prucha, a tailor, and his family (1908-1942). Other residents include City Council Clerk Mary Macha, and her husband Theophilus (1956-1961). Classic upright and wing brick farmhouse with arched windows and 10-paned bay window.	Breck House 1897 23 South Prospect Home of F. H. Breck, manufacturer of unfermented wine. The Reverend Nathan Wesley Grover and his wife Frances purchased the house in 1907. Their son Frederick Grover taught botany at Oberlin College, and their daughter, Eulalie Osgood Grover was a noted author of children’s books. Later occupants included Oberlin Conservatory Professor of Organ Frederick Stiver and Dr. L. H. Trufant, long-time family physician, president of Allen Hospital and the Lorain County Medical Society and a founding member of the Oberlin Rotary Club. Folk Victorian style.

Savage House 1908 310 Reamer Home of Charles W. Savage, Oberlin College student and football player in the 1890s and later the college’s first director of athletics. He worked to make amateur competitive athletics an integral part of a college education. His stick-and-shingle Queen Anne house, designed by Cleveland architect Charles Hopkinson, was the first built on Reamer Place.	Geiser House 1919 337 Reamer Home of Professor Carl Geiser, who in 1907 was appointed the first professor of political science and chairman of that new department at Oberlin College. He was instrumental in beginning the city manager form of government in Oberlin in 1923 and served on City Council from 1926 to 1931. Son of German immigrants, he supported Germany in both World Wars and was awarded the Order of the German Eagle by Hitler in 1938, which intensified anti-Geiser feelings in Oberlin. He retired from Oberlin College in 1935 and continued to live in the house until his death in 1951. His second wife, Florence, lived in the house until the 1960s. Colonial Revival with Mediterranean-style addition.

Wilson Evans House 1856 33 East Vine Home of Wilson B. Evans, carpenter and cabinetmaker, participant in the Wellington Rescue, and brother‑in‑law of Lewis Leary who died at Harpers Ferry. Gathering place for local abolitionists. Italianate style. Porch added in 1927.	Wack-Dietz House 1847 43 East Vine Home of Chauncey Wack, tavern keeper and prominent Democrat, witness in trial of Wellington Rescuers. Later the home of the Dietz family. Father Peter Dietz was a famous early 20th-century “labor priest.” Greek Revival style with later Italianate wing.

Weltzheimer-Johnson House 1950 127 Woodhaven Built for Mr. and Mrs. Charles Weltzheimer and restored in 1968 by Ellen Johnson, Oberlin College art professor. Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright, who promoted vision of modern Usonian homes built close to nature; with open family space adjacent to kitchen and fireplace; no formal dining room, garage, basement, or gutters; and little paint, plaster, or trim. This Usonian house has brick and redwood walls, flat roof, and interior long low-ceilinged bedroom corridor with unique ornamentation along clerestory and eaves. House now owned by Oberlin College, and tours are offered through the Allen Memorial Art Museum.