Historic Oberlin Today


36 E. Lorain, Hobbs House William Dayton Hobbs, his wife Gertrude, and their daughter Nellie moved into this house in 1895, about a decade after its construction, and stayed for more than fifty years. A long-time rival of the Gibson brothers, Dayton ran a bakery and restaurant called 'The Oberlin' on E. College. The Hobbs rented out part of this large house to various people, including Anna and Louise Beck, sisters who ran a millinery shop next to the bakery. Dayton was also responsible for both of Oberlin's movie theaters. He built the Apollo's building, 'Hobbs Block,' in 1913 to house both the theater and his restaurant and also built the former 'Rex' theater at 51 S. Main (now Yesterday's Ice Cream Shoppe and Quiznos). Dayton sold his restaurant in 1917 to retire from the food business at age 49, but it was not long before he began working as manager at the Oberlin Inn. By the time he retired for good in 1932, Dayton had also served on the Village Council and the Board of Public Affairs. The house is now a home to off-campus students.	369 West Lorain, Stone-Gunn House This house was built sometime close to 1868 for Montraville and Mary Ann Stone. Former residents of Strongsville, the Stone family moved to Oberlin in 1868 where Montraville became the president of Citizens' National Bank, and Mayor of Oberlin in 1874 and 1875. Among the many other residents of this house, Lucius and Lila Upton lived here in the late1890's. Lucius was a Conservatory Graduate, and a photographer, who opened the Photography Gallery in 1880. Ross Gunn, another prominent citizen, lived in this house in 1908 with his wife Lora. Ross was a surgeon and supported civil improvement ideas and spoke against alcohol and narcotics.

216 S. Main, Stone House This house was probably built between 1873 and 1877 when the first known residents, Herbert Penfield, a carriage maker, his wife Harriet, and their daughter Sarah were living here. During the Civil War, Herbert was one of the 'Squirrel Hunters,' a group of Ohio civilians who volunteered in 1862 to protect Ohio's southern border near Cincinnati from Confederate attack. In 1895, Judson & Ida Stone moved in. Judson had a long career in politics, serving as a village treasurer and a member of the village council, president of the Oberlin Board of Commerce, state senator for three terms, and secretary of Oberlin Business Men's Club. Judson also attained the rank of 'grand sentinel' in the Royal Arcanum men's group. Judson and Ida had five children before her death in 1912. Judson and his second wife, Gertrude, had two children. One of them, Paul, who worked with the Oberlin Elevator Co., lived here with his parents and his wife Ina and the house has remained in the Stone family for almost 110 years.	272 Oak, Monroe-Wolfe-Lord House This house was built sometime between 1894 and 1897. The first residents were Allen and Dora Monroe. Allen served in the civil war at a young age in the 129th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and the 19th Ohio Ind. Battalion (1863-1865), and later became one of the first mail carriers in Oberlin. Allen and Dora adopted a daughter, Maude A., who graduated from Oberlin College, and went on to become an Associate Professor of Physical Education. In 1908, Albert and Clara Wolfe moved in. Both were active in the women's suffrage movement, and Albert was a professor at Oberlin College. This house continued to have college ties, as professors lived in it until 1993. Katharine Wright, O.C. graduate and sister to Orville and Wilbur, was married here in 1926, while Professor Louis and Frances Lord lived here.

23 S. Prospect, Truffant House This house was built about 1897 when Mr. F. A. Breck and his family lived here. The Oberlin City Directory from that year lists Breck as a manufacturer of unfermented wine. Perhaps the product was intended for use by some of the more ardently anti-alcohol churches in Oberlin, birthplace of the Anti-Saloon League in 1893. Regardless of his intentions, Breck had left town by 1899. Another fascinating resident was Eulalie Grover, who a lived here with her parents from 1907-1916. Eulalie was the author of two popular series of books for young children, the Sunbonnet Girls and the Overall Boys and also edited a Mother Goose nursery rhymes collection that remains popular to this day. Mabel and Lester Truffant set the longevity record for this house, living here from 1922 to 1966. Lester, a local physician, had his office at 15 S. Main Street.	45/49 N. Prospect, Johnson-Ratner House When this house was completed in 1948, it was on the cutting edge of architecture for Oberlin. It was designed and built by Douglas Johnson and Max Ratner, who went on to build a number of other houses throughout town. It was constructed as a duplex, with Max and his wife, Marge, living on one side and Doug and his wife, Shirley, on the other. Both the Johnsons and Ratners studied at Antioch College and came to Oberlin after World War II to work on a project to help Lorain Steel workers build their own homes in response to a housing shortage. Both the Johnsons and Ratners, were involved in founding the Oberlin chapter of the ACLU and Max and Shirley went on to be very active in the state organization. Max had actually been imprisoned for about two and a half years for refusing to fight in WWII. He left Oberlin in the mid-fifties to design buildings throughout the country ranging from Brook Tower in Denver, then the tallest building west of the Mississippi, to half-way houses and homeless shelters. Doug continued to build and design houses until 1955, when he worked for a firm in Berea doing construction supervision. He returned to Oberlin in 1965 when he became facilities manager for Gilford Instrument Laboratories, which designed and built spectrophotometers and other medical instruments. Doug also served a number of terms on the City Council. Both he and Shirley continue to live in Oberlin.

41 North Prospect, MacCoughlan House The first known resident of this house, Charles Caywood, moved in sometime between 1917 and 1927, though the house looks much older. It is possible that it could have been moved from another location here in Oberlin. In 1935, Arthur and Mabel Lucas lived here with their children Amelita and Arthur, Jr. Arthur owned a restaurant on South main (circa 1917) and was also once fined for letting his chickens "run at large." Harold Dearth lived here in 1939, and in 1942 John C. and Ida MacCoughlan lived here for at least 30 years.	337 Reamer, Geiser House This house was built in 1919 for Karl and Florence Geiser. Karl was a Professor of political science and the first chairman of the Political Science Department. He was known by his students as a good teacher, but was very controversial in Oberlin. The son of German immigrants, Karl supported Germany during WWI and even supported Hitler in WWII. In fact, he was awarded the Order of the German Eagle (given to statesmen or other prominent persons in friendly countries), which caused so much uproar that he was forced to retire. He died in 1950, but his wife continued to live here until the late 1960s

346 Reamer , Mosher House Two Conservatory professors of singing, Margaret and Charles Adams, were the first to live in this house, built in 1916. Charles and Harriet Mosher and their two children, lived here in the 50's and 60's. Charles, a philosophy major at Oberlin College, entered the town's public arena in 1940 when he bought the Oberlin News Tribune. He was the paper's editor until 1961 when he won a seat in the US House of Representatives as a Republican. During his eight terms, he sat on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee and was, notably, the first Republican representative to vote against funding the Vietnam War. Before his retirement in 1982, Charles also served as a trustee of Oberlin College and First Church and as a fellow at the Smithsonian's Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars. At age seventy-six, Charles re-enrolled at the college and earned an M.A. in government in 1983.	347 Reamer, Fitch House This house was built circa 1838, and its first resident was Florence M. Fitch. Florence, originally from Connecticut, graduated from Oberlin College in 1897. Florence went on to become the first American woman to earn a MA & PhD at the University of Berlin. She came back to Oberlin about1908, and was an instructor in the Dept. of Philosophy and secretary to the Oberlin College President Henry C. King. She taught religion and philosophy and had a broad knowledge of other cultures based on many travels. She was also involved in many community organizations including: the First Church in Oberlin, Oberlin Community Chest, Community Center, Women's Club, and the League of Women Voters. This house has many other residents tied to the college (professors and administration).