{"nrhp_refnum":"66000615","name":"Oberlin College","other_names":["Oberlin Collegiate Institute"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Tappan Sq.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Oberlin","county":"Lorain County","state":"OH","lat":41.292891408500054,"lon":-82.21865835535908,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1965-12-21","areas_of_significance":["Social History"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Tappan Square, the ten-acre central green of the Oberlin College campus in Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio, which was part of the original 1836 campus of the Oberlin Collegiate Institute, founded in 1833.","why_significant":"Oberlin was a leader in nineteenth-century social reform, making the education of Black students institutional policy and beginning collegiate co-education in the United States in 1837. Although no early buildings survive, Tappan Square keeps its original dimensions and marks the site of the first institution. A 1937 monument and memorial gateway commemorate its role in education.","narrative":"Tappan Square is the ten-acre green at the center of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. It occupies the heart of the original campus of the Oberlin Collegiate Institute, which opened in December 1833 with thirty students and two instructors. Its first two buildings, Tappan Hall and the College Chapel, were razed around 1858, and conditions on college endowments now prevent any new building on the square. Trees fill the space, and a plaque marks where the Historic Elm stood before disease claimed it. A memorial gateway honoring First World War service and a monument to the entry of women, both from 1937, stand nearby. The property was recognized because Oberlin made the education of Black students a matter of policy, admitted four women in 1837 to begin collegiate co-education, and became a center of abolitionist activity before the Civil War. The Conservatory of Music has operated there since 1867.","period_of_significance":"1833-1860","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Tappan Square has no buildings; endowment conditions prevent construction on it. Condition is marked good and altered. The Historic Elm, recently lost to disease, is marked by a small plaque.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.162536-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/66000615_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000615/0bfa7c6d3b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000615/0bfa7c6d3b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Original uploader was Matthew Trump at en.wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DSCN4646_oberlincollegepetershall_e2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Original uploader was Matthew Trump at en.wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DSCN4646_oberlincollegepetershall_e2.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986515","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberlin_College","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q616591"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/lorain-county/oberlin-college-66000615/"}