Wilson Bruce Evans House
A National Historic Landmark
National Register Number: 80003143
Nomination Form
Location: 33 East Vine St, City of Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio.
Geographic Coordinates: 41.28864 -82.21627
Statement of Significance (as of designation - December 9, 1997):
This house was the home of Wilson Bruce Evans (1824-1898), a leading
black abolitionist and successful member of Oberlin's commercial and
educational communities. Evans and his brother Henry participated in the
dramatic 1858 Oberlin-Wellington Rescue, saving an escaped slave who had
been captured and was to be taken back to his owner in Kentucky. This
was one of several well-publicized confrontations resulting from the
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and was significant in fueling the
nation's sectional differences prior to the Civil War.
Links: National Park Service Underground RR, Oberlin College, WikipediA
