City receives $30K state preservation grant for historic Evans House

“The city of Oberlin is rich in African American history; restoring the Evans House will add another important reason to make Oberlin a Black History destination.” — Carrie Porter, planning director for the City of Oberlin

Amanda Terrell, director of the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office, has announced an award to the City of Oberlin for $30,000 to assist in the restoration of a Civil War-era entry at the Wilson Bruce Evans House, according to a news release.

The Wilson Bruce Evans House is a National Historic Landmark home built in 1854-56 by a freeborn Black cabinetmaker, abolitionist and Oberlin-Wellington rescuer.

The Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society will work in partnership with the grant’s fiscal sponsor, Oberlin Heritage Center, to complete this stage in the larger restoration project that will, in the end, allow the Evans House to open to the public as a museum and educational center telling the story of the Evans family, their descendants and the struggle for racial justice in Oberlin and in the United States.

The Evans House, 33 E. Vine St., is one of very few in the nation that can claim to have been built and occupied by a verified Underground Railroad agent.

Placed on the National Register of Historic Places, in 1997, it received designation as a National Historic Landmark, the highest level of recognition for significance.

Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society Property Manager Carol Lasser said she is thrilled to move forward in this very special partnership.

“It does indeed take a village to lovingly preserve this national treasure,” Lasser said. “And with this help, we will be able to tell a nationally — and internationally — significant story about free African Americans who led the fight for racial justice, people who were in the front lines of the struggle for emancipation in the years leading up to the Civil War.”

Oberlin Heritage Center Director Liz Schultz commented: “Our organization is honored to be a part of this initiative to preserve the Evans home. Many people feel more deeply connected to the past when they are standing in a historic place, so to eventually have this landmark building open to community members and visitors will make the Evans family history and those of other Black residents of Oberlin that much more powerful.”

City of Oberlin Planning Director Carrie Porter said: “The city of Oberlin is rich in African American history; restoring the Evans House will add another important reason to make Oberlin a Black History destination.”

The city of Oberlin is a Certified Local Government Community, making it eligible to apply for historic preservation grants.

Previous grants have included funding for restoration at historic First Church in Oberlin.

The Ohio Historic Preservation Office is Ohio’s official historic preservation agency.

A part of the Ohio History Connection, it identifies historic places in Ohio, nominates eligible properties to the National register of Historic Places, reviews federally assisted projects for effects on historic, architectural and archeological resources in Ohio, consults on conversion of buildings and sites and offers educational programs and publications.