Village Housing: 76 N. Pleasant Street

Date

ca. 1904-2006 (private); 2006-present (college)

Location

76 North Pleasant Street

Architects/Collaborators

Builder unknown

Style

Vernacular

History

This vernacular, gabled ell-plan house, built in about 1904, was named the Kelly or Hipp House, after two of its owners/residents. By 1908, the Kelly (also spelled Kelley) family took up residence in this house and lived here through 1933. George B. Kelly (b. 1864, d. 1931) was a native of Lorain County and worked as a farmer and liveryman at Kelly and Dye and Fuller Livery Company prior to living in this house. By 1908, he was a proprietor of the livery stable Schram and Kelly, which was located at 33 N. Main. His wife was Mary Elizabeth (nee Bailey; b.1864, England; d. 1934, Oberlin). She moved to the United States 20 years before her 1891 marriage to George Kelly and attended Oberlin College Preparatory from 1882-1884. The couple had two children, who both attended Oberlin High School. Following George's death in 1931, Elizabeth lived here through 1933, according to city directories, and possibly until her death in 1934.

By 1935, Mrs. Hazel Hipp (nee Richards; b. 1899) moved into the house with her daughter. Hazel Hipp, a widow, came to Oberlin to work as a visiting nurse and remained in that position for fifteen years. She was a well-respected nurse and worked diligently during World War II as a volunteer on the draft board, an assistant to the American Red Cross efforts, and a volunteer to those less fortunate in the Oberlin community. In 1941 she was deemed 'Oberlin's Busiest Lady' by the Oberlin News-Tribune for her work supervising infant care, administering the Relief Fund of the Community Chest, distributing surplus food for the Federal Surplus Commodity Administration, administering the WPA housekeepers of Oberlin, helping children in need get necessary dental work, helping local citizens find jobs in town, and working as a visiting nurse. For one year (1942), she took a leave of absence from her position as visiting nurse and studied public health at Western Reserve University. Hazel's daughter Marilyn lived here through 1945, in part after her marriage to their neighbor Paul Hovey. Paul had enlisted in the Marine Corps the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor and served in China, India, and Burma and received the Distinguished Flying Cross. By 1948, the Hipps had vacated the house, and a series of residents occupied it.

As of 2006, the house belongs to the College, and is offered to students in its Village Housing program.

Source

Ohio Historic Inventory by Liz Schultz, Ohio State Historic Preservation Office, November 20, 2009. Accessed from the Oberlin Heritage Center website, June 26, 2015.