Oberlin Heritage Center facts for kids

The Oberlin Heritage Center is a special non-profit group. It works to save and share the history of Oberlin, Ohio. A group of 18 people called a Board of Trustees guides the center. It gets money from members, donations, and special grants. Over 700 people from Oberlin and other places support the center.

Historic Places to Explore

The Oberlin Heritage Center has three main historic buildings you can visit. These are the Monroe House, the Jewett House, and the Little Red Schoolhouse. You can take guided tours to learn about life in Oberlin from the 1830s to the early 1900s. The tours also teach about important topics like African American history, the Underground Railroad, and women's history. You can also learn about science and social changes like the Temperance movement.

The Monroe House: A Home for Change

The Monroe House was built in 1866. It is a brick house built in the Italianate style. It was first the home of General Giles W. Shurtleff. He led the first African-American army group from Ohio in the American Civil War. Later, it became the home of James Monroe and his wife, Julia Finney Monroe. James Monroe was a very important person who worked to end slavery. He also fought for African-Americans to have the right to vote. He was a good friend of Frederick Douglass, a famous abolitionist. James Monroe taught at Oberlin College. He also worked for the U.S. government in Brazil and was a U.S. Congressman for five terms. Julia Finney Monroe was the daughter of Charles Grandison Finney, a big religious leader at Oberlin College.

The Jewett House: Science and Innovation

The Jewett House was built in 1884. It is a brick house built in the Victorian style. This house was home to Frank Fanning Jewett, a chemistry professor at Oberlin College. His wife, Sarah Frances Gulick Jewett, wrote many books about staying healthy. The Jewetts and later owners rented rooms to male students from Oberlin College. These students slept in the attic and studied on the second floor. One of Professor Jewett's students was Charles Martin Hall. He discovered an easy and cheap way to make aluminum. The Jewett House has an exhibit called "Aluminum: The Oberlin Connection." It shows how Hall did his famous experiment in a small woodshed in 1886.

The Little Red Schoolhouse: Learning for Everyone

The Little Red Schoolhouse was built between 1836 and 1837. It was the very first public school in Oberlin. What makes it special is that it welcomed students of all races from the start. This was brave because Ohio had "Black Laws" that tried to separate people. Sarah Margru Kinson was a young girl who was on the famous La Amistad ship. She later came back to America and was one of the first African students to attend this school. Today, the Little Red Schoolhouse looks like a pioneer-era one-room school. Visitors can experience what school was like in the 1800s.

History of the Center

The Oberlin Heritage Center has a long history. It started with two groups. The Oberlin Village Improvement Society began in 1903. Its goal was to make the town more beautiful. The Oberlin Historical Society started in 1960. This group worked to save the Little Red Schoolhouse and the Monroe House. In 1964, these two volunteer groups joined together. They became the Oberlin Historical and Improvement Organization (O.H.I.O.). The organization grew a lot after hiring its first professional staff in 1993. In 2005, it changed its name to "The Oberlin Heritage Center."

Today, the Oberlin Heritage Center is a small but important museum. In 2006, it was chosen to be part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Partner Places program. The National Park Service recognized the Oberlin Heritage Center in 2004. They named it a facility on their National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. This means it's an important stop on the historic path to freedom. The organization also helped Oberlin be chosen as one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's "Dozen Distinctive Destinations" in 2004.