National Historic Landmark

Evans, Wilson Bruce, House

Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio
Listed
April 15, 1980
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
80003143

About this property

Wilson Bruce Evans House is a historic house at 33 East Vine Street in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Completed in 1856, it served a major stop on the Underground Railroad, with its builders, Wilson Bruce Evans and Henry Evans, participating the 1858 Oberlin-Wellington Rescue, a celebrated rescue of a slave. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997. The Wilson Bruce Evans House is located south of downtown Oberlin, on the south side of East Vine Street opposite Martin Luther King Jr. Park, a small public park behind Oberlin City Hall. The house is a two-story brick structure, covered by a hip roof. The roof has extended eaves studded with decorative brackets. A single-story porch extends across the front, its shed roof supported by square brick piers. The interior is finished with high-quality woodwork, milled and shaped by Wilson Bruce Evans and Henry Evans. The house was built 1854-56 by the Evans brothers, two free African-Americans, and was occupied by Wilson Bruce Evans and his family. At the time of its landmark designation in 1997, it was still in the hands of their descendants. The Evans house was the home of Wilson Bruce Evans, a prominent African-American abolitionist and early benefactor of Oberlin College, the first college to admit students of color. Evans rose to national attention after his importance in the 1858 Oberlin-Wellington Rescue, one of the events that challenged the controversial Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Although Evans was not an outspoken abolitionist like his colleagues Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass, Evans was cited as a man who "put justice above his own safety." The house was a frequent stop for travelers on the Underground Railroad such as Harriet Tubman. Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society Website

Location

33 E. Vine St.
Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio
41.28859, -82.21631

Categories

SOCIAL HISTORY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Christ Episcopal Church
Industrial
0.1 mi
Westervelt Hall
Industrial
0.1 mi
Downtown Oberlin Historic District
Listed
0.2 mi
Jewett, Frank, House
Industrial
0.2 mi
Oberlin Gas Lighting Company Gasholder House
Industrial
0.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was Evans, Wilson Bruce, House listed on the National Register?

Evans, Wilson Bruce, House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 15, 1980.

What type of historic resource is Evans, Wilson Bruce, House?

Evans, Wilson Bruce, House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is Evans, Wilson Bruce, House a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Evans, Wilson Bruce, House has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for Evans, Wilson Bruce, House?

The period of significance for Evans, Wilson Bruce, House is recorded as the industrial era.

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