OBERLIN - Construction is steadily progressing on the restoration of the historic Wilson Bruce Evans House at 33 E. Vine St., with crews completing exterior masonry, installing windows and beginning interior work as the long-awaited rehabilitation project moves closer to completion.
The restoration, which has been underway since 2021, is transforming the former home of abolitionist, Underground Railroad conductor and civil rights leader Wilson Bruce Evans into a museum and educational center dedicated to preserving Black history in Oberlin and beyond.
John Garaja, general foreman for Ozanne Construction, said crews are laying brick on the building's addition while preparing to install windows throughout the structure. Inside, framing is underway as electrical, plumbing and heating and cooling systems are being roughed in. Drywall installation is expected to begin next.
Garaja said restoring a building that dates back more than 150 years has required them to use special techniques.
"The way the building was framed is very different," he said. "It's all the old timbers and beams and the mortising. It's got a lot of character to it."
Many of those original hand-hewn beams remain visible inside the structure, some with bark still visible on them, and will continue to be exposed after the museum opens, allowing visitors to experience the craftsmanship of the original building.
"I'm very moved by these beams," said Carol Lasser, executive director of the Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society. "Wilson and his family lived here. This is the authentic place where that history happened."
One of the project's unique requirements came during excavation work, when an archaeologist from Middleburg Heights was required to be on site whenever crews disturbed the ground around the historic property.
The archaeological work uncovered several historic artifacts, including bottles, pottery, old tools and a child's sled.
The rehabilitation has relied on a combination of federal, state, private and local support, Lasser said.
"We've been really fortunate to raise a lot of funds because it's such an amazing and unique project," she said.
Funding has come from a wide range of public and private sources, including a National Park Service Save America's Treasures and African American Civil Rights grant, the National Park Service-ASALH Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Grant and a Certified Local Government Grant through the state. Funding was also administered through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, the Nord Family Foundation, Nordson Corporation Foundation, Bill Long Foundation, the William G. Pomeroy Foundation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Lasser also credited individual donors for helping move the project forward and said the Nord Family Foundation provided support for the archaeological work required before construction could begin.
"We are inspired by, and grateful to, our many donors, large and small, without whom this rehabilitation would not be possible," she said. "We thank all those whose generosity, at whatever level, is making this project possible."
The restoration has also uncovered new information about the house itself.
As part of the rehabilitation, the historical society removed a porch added during the 1950s and reconstructed what historians believe closely resembles the home's original front porch. Because very few historic photographs of the house exist, much of the work required careful historical research and interpretation.
Another major discovery came through dendrochronology, the scientific study of tree rings, which determined the oldest portion of the home was built in 1848, six years before Evans arrived in Oberlin from North Carolina.
Evans quickly became a community leader. Within a year he was voting in local elections, and in 1858 he became one of the Oberlin-Wellington Rescuers, helping free a fugitive enslaved man from federal custody in an event that became a turning point in the national abolitionist movement. He later enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War.
Once complete, the Wilson Bruce Evans House will serve as both a museum and educational center dedicated to preserving Evans' legacy while telling the broader story of Black abolitionists and Oberlin's role in the Underground Railroad.
A longtime Oberlin historian, Lasser taught American history, women's history, slavery, abolition and Oberlin history at Oberlin College for nearly 40 years. She also co-authored "An Elusive Utopia: The Struggle for Racial Equality in Oberlin, Ohio", with her husband, historian Gary Kornblith.
She said the project grew out of years of research into Oberlin's past and a desire to tell a more complete story of the abolitionist movement.
"So much history of the Underground Railroad has been written as a history of white people who did good," Lasser said. "Wilson Bruce Evans helps re-center that story on Black activists and Black heroes."
Lasser said Evans' descendants continued that commitment to education and racial justice for generations, founding schools in the Jim Crow South and serving as educators and community leaders.
Today, nearly half of the Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society's board of trustees consists of Evans' direct descendants.
"We are committed that no child will grow up in Oberlin without knowing the story of the importance of Black abolitionists in Oberlin," Lasser said.
The museum will also become one of only a small number of National Historic Landmarks in the country primarily dedicated to interpreting the African American experience.
"There are only about 2,600 National Historic Landmarks in the United States," Lasser said. "Less than 2 to 3 percent of those are primarily identified with the African American experience. So that would be like maybe 75 buildings in the entire country. This is one of them, and out of those, very few are open to the public on a regular basis. This will be something of a unicorn."
Construction is expected to reach substantial completion by mid-August. After that, crews will shift to installing exhibits while additional work, including construction of a parking lot, is completed. A grand opening is planned for February 2027, with regular public hours expected to begin later that year.
Beyond restoring the home, the historical society is planning Evans Interpretive Park, a nearly one-acre outdoor educational campus surrounding the museum.
The park will feature the planned "Stony Path," an immersive interpretive trail inspired by James Weldon Johnson's "Lift Every Voice and Sing." The pathway will guide visitors through Black history before leading to a gathering space for educational programs and community events.
Lasser said the Evans House will complement nearby historic sites, including Martin Luther King Jr. Park, home to monuments honoring the Oberlin-Wellington Rescuers and the Oberlin Raiders involved in John Brown's raid at Harpers Ferry. She also highlighted the Oberlin Heritage Center, Oberlin College and Westwood Cemetery, where members of the Evans family and other abolitionists are buried.
"We want to be the destination for Black heritage tourism in Northeast Ohio," Lasser said. "The starting point and the first stop in Oberlin. No other location is going to have as many sites within a smaller distance. This is such a rich history, such an exciting history. You can feel it and touch it and really become a part of it."
Lasser credited the City of Oberlin and the Oberlin Heritage Center for helping secure some of the project's earliest grant funding and for continuing to support the effort throughout the rehabilitation.
The Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society will provide another look at the project's progress during its sixth annual meeting from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 19 at the Oberlin Underground Railroad Center, 273 S. Main St.
This year's theme, "Stony the Road We Trod," will include a preview of the museum's exhibits and the unveiling of plans for Evans Interpretive Park.
For Lasser, the project is about more than preserving a historic building. She hopes it will inspire future generations to learn from the past and continue the work of those who came before them.
"Wilson Bruce Evans and his family managed to make a difference," she said. "And we can too."
Those interested in learning more about the project, renewing a membership or making a donation can contact Lasser at carol.lasser@evanshhs.org or (440) 935-2998.
Contact Connor Ball at cball@chroniclet.com or (440) 329-7243.