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Historic Oberlin Today

199 W. College Thompson-Pond House The religious fervor of Oberlin's residents has long spurred them to social action, often for noble causes such as abolitionism, but also for moral crusades that may now strike us as quite conservative. Three past residents of this house represent this spectrum. It was built in 1866 for Deacon Uriah Thompson. A passionate abolitionist and important early patron of the college, he also fervently denounced liquor, secret societies, and anything else he saw as unwholesome. In 1883, after Thompson left to run a student boarding house in the former 'First Ladies Hall' across the street, Rev. Chauncey N. Pond moved into this house and stayed until 1916. A pastor in several Congregational churches in Ohio, he was also involved in various national organizations including the American Sunday School Union (now the American Missionary Fellowship) and the Industrial Missionary Association of Alabama, which assisted African Americans in acquiring land. Pond also founded Oberlin's Union Telegraph Institute during the Civil War. The third prominent resident of this house, Susan Fidélité Hinman, was president of the Oberlin chapter of the Women's Christian Temperance Union from 1914-36 and lived here in the 1920's.	271 W. College Henderson House This attractive, well-preserved house was designed by Columbus architects Marriott and Allen for John and Ada Henderson, who moved in circa 1908. In John's long career, he was president of the Oberlin Business College and the Peoples Banking Company as well as a founding member of the Anti-Saloon League. The Business College grew and prospered under John's leadership, leading the Oberlin News to declare it "one of the biggest and best [business] colleges in the country." After John founded the People's Bank in 1906 he ran it so well that it was the only bank in Oberlin to survive the nation-wide rash of failures after the Great Crash in 1929, and it did so without losing a dollar of its invested funds. After John helped found the Oberlin Anti-Saloon league in 1893, it became a nation-wide organization that played an important role in enacting Prohibition in 1919. The Henderson's stayed here until John's death in 1939. It was subsequently the long-time home of John and Libby Cochrane, proprietors of Oberlin's Ben Franklin Store.
158 Elm The first person known to live at this house is Edith Dickson who was here from 1890-1896. Edith was a librarian at the conservatory and later president of the Ohio Women's Suffrage Association. Charles Beebe Martin and his wife Helen also lived here with Edith. A lecture series in honor of Charles' forty-five years as a professor of classics at Oberlin continues today at the college. Helen was a chair of the Oberlin Village Improvement Society, a pre-curser of the Oberlin Historical and Improvement Organization. At the turn of the century, Rev. Benjamin Shuart and his wife Anna were living here. Benjamin owned the Shuart Grader Company, which produced road machinery, and also patented an improvement for an earth scraping machine as well as an 'elevating and transferring apparatus' (Oberlin News 4/7/96:3). The Nord family purchased this house in 1966 and donated it to Christ Episcopal Church. It has been the church's rectory ever since.	190 Elm Leslie-Johnson-Thomas House This house was at the cutting edge of both style and technology when it was built for Florence Leslie in 1894. It was one of the first houses in Oberlin to have central heating, which allowed much larger and airier rooms. Rebecca Johnson moved here from her previous house on S. Professor St. in 1911, which disproves a local legend that she killed herself out of grief following the death of her husband, Albert, in a train wreck in 1899. When she died in 1915, her will stipulated that her long-time houseman, coachman, and gardener, Henry Thomas, be allowed to stay until his death. Henry, born a slave, had been freed by the Johnson family. After Henry moved into a rest home in the early 30's, local contractor John Annable bought the house and divided it into apartments. The house is still used as a duplex today.
221 Elm This house was constructed in about 1874 for Francis Thompson and his family. Francis owned Watson & Thompson Hardware (now Watson's Hardware) with M.J. Watson. Helen Cox, a first lady of Ohio, lived here circa 1910. Her late husband was Civil War general and Ohio governor Jacob Cox. She was also the daughter of famed preacher and Oberlin College president Charles Finney. Paul and Helen MacEachron, who had both taught in China, moved in about 1925 when Paul came to Oberlin as a phys-ed professor. Tragedy struck in 1930 when Paul died after falling from a cliff at Chance Creek. The Tumblesons moved in after Carl Tumbleson bought the more than century-old Oberlin School of Commerce in 1952. Carl served as president, his son Robert as vice-president, and Robert's wife, Ruth, also worked at the school. This property was restored by Mary Durling, who lived here from 1978-2000.	228 Elm, DeFrance House The first known residents of this house were Allen and H. B. Hayward, both carpenters. From 1883-1891, Mary DeFrance and her children moved in. Mary, an African American woman, moved here from Albuquerque, NM with her six children, one of whom, Marie, went on to become a successful business woman, and one of the first African American business women in Oberlin. Marie bought Belle Knowlton's Millinery Store at 24 South Main in 1886. She operated her own millinery store until her health failed in 1926.
240 Elm, Woods House The house at 240 Elm was built circa 1890, and the first residents were John and Sarah Woods and their daughter Maud. Among the many residents of the house, John and Isabelle Wrightman lived here from 1916 until 1942. John was a Professor of Romance Languages, and he and his wife were often away during the summer months. During the summer of 1932, neighbors noticed water in the street in front of this house and, upon investigation, discovered the water was coming from the front door. When neighbors went into the house they discovered a mess; an upstairs water pipe had broken and had been leaking for several weeks. Portions of the ceiling had fallen, walls were badly damaged, and the fireplace front had fallen over. Luckily, the damage was able to be repaired.	249 Elm, Comings House This house was built sometime in the 1890's and Andrew & Emelie Comings and their two children were the first residents. Andrew owned a bookstore on W. College and was also the mayor (1892-1896) under whom Oberlin saw its first electric streetlights. He went on to the Ohio General Assembly, but remained an important figure in Oberlin affairs. Among the other many residents of the house have been many college professors and administrators. In 1993, John Jude and Leonetta Palencar lived here. John Jude is a nationally recognized artist whose works have appeared in numerous publications including those produced by Bantam, Time/Life, Avon, and Warner (Felix).
195 Forest, Andrews House 195 Forest was built in the summer of 1893 for Professor George and his wife, Harriet, Andrews, and their two children. While construction was still underway, George felt the excavated area was too small and so ordered the dimensions of the house to be enlarged resulting in, at the time, a larger-than- life home. George was a professor of Organ and Composition at the Conservatory from 1882-1931, an eminent performer, conductor, and composer. George and Harriet moved to Honolulu in 1931, where George passed away. This house then experienced several other owners, including Oberlin College. In 1977 James and Catharine Caldwell bought and restored the house.	248 Grafton, Quinn House The first known residents of this house were Solomon and Frances Quinn in 1883. Solomon served in the 27th US Colored Troops in 1865, but because of illness, was discharged after only three months service. He later joined the Grand Army of the Republic, and applied for a pension because of continued illness. Solomon was a farmer and laborer and belonged to the First Methodist Church. Frances belonged to Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Solomon and Frances had 7 children, and lived here until their deaths (Solomon d. 1894, Frances d. 1909). This house continued to be occupied by Quinn family members, including fireman Marion Quinn, until at least 1916. Since then, this house has seen many other residents.