The Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society – Historic Oberlin, OH home of Wilson Bruce and Sarah Jane Evans

About Evans HHS

The Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society (aka Evans HHS) honors the legacy of Wilson Bruce Evans (1824-1898), Sarah Jane Leary Evans (1829-1898) and their descendants. The Society seeks to…
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What’s Happening at Evans HHS

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Our Funders

In addition to our members and private donors, we thank our institutional funders for their financial support: Nordson Corporation Foundation, Nord Family Foundation, Bill Long Foundation, National Underground Railroad Network…
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The Oberlin-Wellington Rescue

Adapted with permission from Elusive Utopia: The Struggle for Racial Equality in Oberlin, Ohio by Gary J. Kornblith and Carol Lasser (LSU Press, 2018) From the mid-1830s forward, Oberlin gained…
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Our Mission
The Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the conservation of the Wilson Bruce Evans Home and provision of public space that serves as…
Life & Times
African American Wilson Bruce Evans was born free in the Piedmont region of North Carolina in 1824. His mother was Fanny Evans, a free woman of color who owned property…
Our Funders
In addition to our members and private donors, we thank our institutional funders for their financial support: Nordson Corporation Foundation, Nord Family Foundation, Bill Long Foundation, National Underground Railroad Network…

Staff
Carol Lasser, Emerita Professor of History, Oberlin College, serves as Executive Director of the Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society. Carol has lived in Oberlin since 1980. For nearly four…
Meet Our Board
The Board of Trustees is composed of descendants of Wilson Bruce Evans and Sarah Jane Leary Evans, members of the Oberlin’s African American genealogy and history community, members of Oberlin’s…
Become a Member or Renew
The Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society offers several membership options, which are renewable yearly. You can also donate without becoming a member here. Tax Information: The Wilson Bruce Evans…

Recent Posts

Smithsonian Curator Nancy Bercaw to speak on “Prospects for African American Public History” on Nov. 4

Nancy Bercaw—Curator of Political History at the Smithsonian Institution, co-founder of the Center for Restorative History, and Lead Curator of the Slavery and Freedom Exhibition at the National Museum of…

10/20/2025
Full Speed Ahead on Phase 2 of the Evans House Rehabilitation Project

On Wednesday, October 15, Executive Director Carol Lasser and many local Evans HHS trustees joined Dominic Ozanne II of Ozanne Construction, architect Sandra Madison of Robert P. Madison International, City…

10/20/2025
Evans HHS to Participate in “Connect to a Cause” on Thursday, Sept. 18

On September 18, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., the Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society will take part in Connect to a Cause, a 12-hour crowdfunding event hosted by…

08/24/2025
5th Annual Meeting of Evans HHS to be held on Sat., Sept. 13, 2025, at the Oberlin Underground Railroad Center, beginning at 11 am

07/29/2025
Executive Director Carol Lasser contributes “A Brief History of Race and Equity in Oberlin, Ohio” to the Oberlin Social Equity Plan 2025.

On May 19, 2025, the Oberlin City Council approved the community’s first Oberlin Social Equity Plan, which includes an essay by Carol Lasser titled “A Brief History of Race and…

06/26/2025
“Camp Delaware and the 5th U.S. Colored Troops”

Saturday, May 10, at 3 pmOberlin Public Library The Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society (Evans HHS) announces a presentation by Francine Butler and Mark Butler of the Community Arts…

04/28/2025
Evans HHS Shop Now Live

Please visit the Wilson Bruce Evans Cafe Press Shop at https://www.cafepress.com/shop/evanshhs

04/07/2025
Recording: “A Peek Beneath” with David Klinge

David F. Klinge, Historical Archeologist and Vice President/Chief Operating Officer of ASC Group, Historical and Environmental Consultants, discussed what was recovered in the historical archeology conducted around the historic Wilson…

04/06/2025
Recording & Presentation Slides: “Looking for Mr. Evans”

Cultural heritage practitioner Jerome Bias and historic home restoration expert Bill Chapman present “Looking for Mr. Evans: Exploring the Home and Furniture of Abolitionist and Cabinetmaker Wilson Bruce Evans”, reporting…

03/03/2025
Black History Month Events

Celebrate Black History Month with the  Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society**Three programs to put on your calendar** “Awakening to Justice”  Film Screening and Discussion Saturday, Feb. 8, at 2:00 p.m.…

01/16/2025