Soldiers Monument

The original Soldiers Monument was built in 1870-1871 on the southeast corner of College and Professor. Four marble tablets in a Gothic-style steeple honored 94 soldiers who had died in the U.S. Civil War. By the 1930s, the monument was in a poor condition and was called "the sunken church." In 1935, it was dismantled and its marble tablets were put into storage.

In 1942, the tablets were carefully moved to a memorial wall in Wright Memorial Park at 17 West Vine Street. Plaques were added to include the names of Oberlinians who died in other wars: 11 in World War I, 16 in World War II, 2 in the Korean conflict, 2 in the Viet Nam Conflict, and 1 in Afghanistan.

Inscribed on a marble plaque below the World War I names are the words:
There abideth also an
unwritten memorial of
them graven not on stone
but in the hearts of men.
- Pericles

Inscribed on the risers of two of the three stone steps is the description:
In this monument erected in 1942 are incorporated the marble tablets and architectural details from the Soldiers Monument
designed by Charles H. Churchill erected 1870 dismantled 1935.

For more detailed history, photos of the original monument which resembled the top of a steeple, and the names of all honored (except Louis R. Torres killed in Afghanistan), please see either of the sources below.

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Source

• Text: Anne Palmer
• Photos: Anne Palmer
• Soldiers Monument
• Oberlin War Memorial