Oberlin Academy Records, 1850-1916
| Oberlin College Archives
Administrative/Biographical History
Oberlin Academy (1833-1916), governed by the Board of Trustees of Oberlin College ("Collegiate Institute" before 1850), served as both a private secondary school and as the first of four departments of Oberlin College to admit students. Known as the Preparatory Department from 1833 to 1892, when its name was changed to the Oberlin Academy, the school prepared boys and girls beyond the elementary grades to undertake advanced work in other departments or colleges, to enter technical schools, or to begin working. For older and returning students, the Academy offered a belated secondary education or special training to advance professional careers. Academy students enjoyed the use of College facilities, but after 1891, an effort was made to go outside the College to hire Academy instructors.
Academy enrollment began to decline after 1900, reaching its lowest level in 1901-02. In 1901, Oberlin College President John Henry Barrows appointed a special committee to review the work and mission of the Academy. The position of Secretary of the Academy was created in 1909 specifically to determine the cause for the continuing decrease in enrollments. Trustee Charles Martin Hall's 1911 donation of $25,000, making possible the Academy's move to the twenty-six acre Albert H. Johnson estate on South Professor Street, failed to reverse the trend. In 1914, the faculty was cut from twenty-one to fourteen and the curriculum reduced. Rather than allow the Academy to dwindle away, the Board of Trustees voted in June of 1916 to close its doors.
Author: Valerie S. Komor Forms of Material (links to similar genres) Administrative Information
Student admissions records (1904-16) and a variety of printed materials (1850-1916) comprise the records of the Oberlin Academy (1833-1916). Documentation for the years from 1833 to 1892, when the school was known as the Preparatory Department, is limited to printed material (found in Series II) dated 1850-92 and a small number of grade certificates from 1855-56. There are no records for the years 1833-49. The bulk of Series I, Operating Records, provides a fairly detailed and consecutive record of Academy operations from 1904 to 1916. During this period, a number of strategies were employed to increase enrollment and prevent the Academy from closing. A series of bound committee reports (1901-09), commissioned by the Board of Trustees of Oberlin College, provides an account of the Academy’s self-assessment during the final years of its operation. Of special interest in Series II, is a Report of the Secretary of the Academy (1912), housed with “Academy Publications,” and the Descriptive Pamphlet of Oberlin Academy (1912), a special pamphlet brought out to publicize the recent Charles Martin Hall donation. Programs include senior class exhibitions (1850-1916), commencement (1902-16), and debates and declamation contests (1898-1914).
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series I. Operating Records, 1855-56, 1901-16 (5 lin.ft.)
Nine boxes of alphabetically arranged student applications for admission (1904-16) and related documentation constitute the bulk of Series I. Permission of the Archivist must be secured before consulting these records. Other materials include two volumes of attendance ledgers (1907-16) and a bound typescript with clippings pasted in entitled Papers Relating to Oberlin Academy (1901-09). Foldered with this item are two loose committee reports (1904, 1915) and a 1915 graph showing attendance rates at Oberlin College. Also filed here is a small sample of grade reports or certificates; these certificates, from 1855-56, report the work of Elihu C. Barnard (A.B. 1860).
Series II. Printed Material, 1850-1916, n.d. (1 lin.ft.)
Includes a run of the annual Oberlin Academy Calendar (1904-16) and two volumes (1914, 1915) of the Academy yearbook, The Etean. Additional materials include two copies of the Oberlin Academy Newsletter, Vol. 1 No. 2 for June 1913, promotional leaflets, programs, class schedules, and commencement memorabilia. The programs include Senior Class Exhibitions and Commencement (1850-1916), debates, and declamation contests.
INVENTORY
Series I. Series I. Operating Records, 1855-56, 1901-16
(* denotes restricted records)
Box 1-9
Admissions Records, 1904-16 *
Box 10
Attendance Ledgers (2 vol.), 1907-16 (2f)
Grade Certificates (Elihu C. Barnard), 1855-56 [2001/94] *
Papers Relating to Oberlin Academy, 1901-09, 1915
Series II. Printed Material, 1850-1916, n.d.
Box 11
Oberlin Academy Calendar, 1904-16 (3f)
Box 12
Academy Publications, 1904-16
Class Schedules, 1914-15
(see also oversize, below)
Commencement and other memorabilia, 1902-16
The Etean, 1914, 1915
Miscellaneous publications and programs, 1892-1915, n.d. (2f)
Oberlin Academy Descriptive Pamphlet, 1912
Preparatory Department items, 1871, 1890, 1892
Programs
Annual Debate: Academy vs. Oberlin High School, 1906-14
Declamation Contest, 1898-1911
Senior Class Exhibition and Commencement, 1850-1916 (2f)
Goodrich Room Case 3, Drawer 6
Class Schedules, 1893-1900 [acc. 12 & 2001/94]