For Oberlin, history is Bliss

Ten students are living in bliss. And some historians aren't too pleased.

The house at 207 E. College, variously referred to as Bliss House or Langston House, is owned by Oberlin Student Co-operative Association (OSCA). OSCA has recently voiced a commitment to preservation, quelling some Oberlin residents' fears that Oberlin's most historic home is in imminent danger.

OSCA bought the former home of John Mercer Langston, Oberlin's foremost abolitionist, in 1986. The house was renamed Bliss in honor of its last owner, Mrs. Bliss.

Some Oberlin residents, who continue to refer to the house by its original name, wondered how OSCA had managed to buy the Langston home for just $88,300. They wondered about the future of Oberlin's past.

Fears were compounded by house residents' initial refusal to open their home to preservationists. The dedication of the Evans' House earlier this month drew many National Park Service officials eager to tour Langston's home. They found the doors closed to them.

"There were a lot of people in town who would have welcomed the opportunity to see the inside of Langston," said Pat Murphy, director of the Ohio Historical and Improvement Organization (OHIO).

"It was an unfortunate miscommunication," said Bliss House resident senior Jenn Carter. "There were people here uncomfortable with people coming through their bedrooms. It was presented to us in a negative way."

Carter said the OSCA board has since discussed Bliss House and decided to make a commitment to preservation. A preservation architect visited the house this week to assess the building.

Associate Professor of History Carol Lasser, an OHIO board member, said she believes it's the right time to work to save the house.

"It's a different moment," Lasser said, comparing the current situation to 1986. "It's a much better moment. We have a strong local historical society and a supportive College environment."

"When we bought the house, it was a completely different administration," junior Dan Spalding, OSCA treasurer, said. "And OSCA was in the market."

Lori Sipes of Architects Four, a firm based in Ann Arbor, Mich., traveled to Oberlin to evaluate the house. Sipes will deliver her assessment in June.

"It's structurally sound," Sipes said. "The baseboard, door, trims and floor are original. The original floor is under the carpet. It's a very typical example of a house built in 1855."

The house was not entirely typical when it was built. According to Professor of History Geoffrey Blodgett's history of Oberlin architecture, Langston boasted his house was the first on East College Street to be owned by an African American. After the Emancipation Proclamation was announced in Oberlin, men marched to Langston's home to celebrate.

Langston, the first black lawyer in Ohio, was also the first black to hold elective office in the United States. Born into slavery, Langston eventually served on the faculty of Howard University, was appointed U.S. minister to Haiti and was named inspector general of the Freedman's Bureau.

Although Langston's home earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, its historic significance was largely ignored during the 1980s.

"This is an effort to think about what does this building mean, and how is it best used," Lasser said. "OSCA is now going to have to figure out what they want to do."

OSCA is not entirely sure what it wants to do. Spalding said OSCA is considering many different options.

"If we buy another house, it's going to be a very deliberate process," Spalding said.