Wilson Bruce Evans Home

Built in the mid-19th century by a free Black family and maintained for generations, the Wilson Bruce Evans House is being preserved as a community site that will connect Oberlin’s African American abolitionist history with the ongoing struggle for social justice. After beginning the historic renovation process, trustees of the house turned to us for next steps in bringing about their vision for an educational and community center. We began by seeking input from descendants, board members, and the local community and by surveying similar institutions to better understand the goals for this new abolitionist history site and its place in relation to other sites associated with enslavement and Black freedom seekers. Our work resulted in a comprehensive master plan that integrated the vision for the museum with the physical site, offered an overview of the visitor experience, and provided benchmarks for future planning for staffing, educational outreach, and programming. Building on the work already undertaken by the Evans HHS Board and project team, we also offered a framework to organize the interpretation in the house. Our master plan helped the board clarify and articulate their priorities and is serving as a guidepost in the continued development of the museum.