Oberlin, Kansas

**Oberlin** is a city in Decatur County, Kansas, United States. It is also the county seat of Decatur County. In 2020, 1,644 people lived there.

## History

Oberlin was platted as a town in 1878. It was named after Oberlin, Ohio.

The first post office in Oberlin was created in April 1878.

On September 30, 1878, Northern Cheyenne were running from the Indian Territory to their homes in the north. The Northern Cheyenne Exodus, attacked people near Oberlin.

Oberlin was incorporated as a city in 1885.

## Geography

Oberlin is at  (39.82304, -100.530737). It has an elevation of 2,569 feet (783 m). It is on the northwest side of Sappa Creek, a tributary of the Republican River, in the High Plains region of the Great Plains. It is at the intersection of U.S. Route 36 and U.S. Route 83 in northwest Kansas. Oberlin is  northwest of Wichita,  east of Denver, and  west-northwest of Kansas City.

The United States Census Bureau says that the city has a total area of . All of it is land.

### Weather

Oberlin has a humid continental climate (Köppen _Dfa_). It has hot, dry summers and cold, dry winters. The average temperature in Oberlin is 52 °F (11 °C). Temperatures hotter than 90 °F (32 °C) happen on average 62 days per year and dropping below 32 °F (0 °C) an average of 158 days a year. Oberlin gets precipitation 66 days a year and snowfall happens 11 days a year. Precipitation averages 23 inches (574 mm) per year, and snowfall averages 32 inches (80 cm) per year. On average, January is the coldest month, and July is both the hottest month and the wettest month. The hottest temperature ever in Oberlin was 111 °F (44 °C) in 1954; the coldest temperature ever was -31 °F (-35 °C) in 1989.

### 2020 census

The 2020 census says that there were 1,644 people, 771 households, and 428 families living in Oberlin. Of the households, 72.6% owned their home and 27.4% rented their home.

The median age was 49.1 years. Of the people, 93.3% were White, 0.4% were Black, 0.4% were Asian, 0.2% were Native American, 0.4% were from some other race, and 5.3% were two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.2% of the people.

### 2010 census

The 2010 census says that there were 1,788 people, 824 households, and 477 families living in Oberlin.

## Education

Oberlin USD 294 has two public schools in the city:  Oberlin Elementary School (Grades Pre-K-6) and Decatur Community Junior/Senior High School (7-12).

## Media

_The Oberlin Herald_ is Oberlin's only newspaper. It is published once per week.

Oberlin is in the Wichita-Hutchinson, Kansas television market. NBC affiliate KSNK is licensed to McCook, Nebraska. It broadcasts on channel 8 from studios west of Oberlin. KSNK is a satellite station of KSNW in Wichita.

## Famous people

- Brun Campbell – ragtime composer, pianist
- Sam Francis – Overall #1 pick in 1937 NFL Draft, football coach at Kansas State University
- Elmer Hackney – NFL running back
- Richard Rogers – U.S. federal judge
- Cora Simpson – nurse and nurse educator, founder of nursing school in Fuzhou, China

## Other websites

- City
- City of Oberlin, and Decatur County website
- Oberlin - Directory of Public Officials
- Schools
- USD 294, local school district
- Maps
- Oberlin City Map , KDOT

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Oberlin, Kansas
- **settlement type**: City and County seat
- **image skyline**: Oberlin_skyline.JPG
- **image caption**: Downtown Oberlin (1999)
- **image map**: Decatur_County_Kansas_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Oberlin_Highlighted.svg
- **map caption**: Location within Decatur County, Kansas, Decatur County and Kansas
- **image map1**: Map of Decatur Co, Ks, USA.png
- **map caption1**: Kansas Department of Transportation, KDOT map of Decatur County, Kansas, Decatur County (:File:Kansas official transportation map legend.png, legend)
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: United States
- **subdivision type1**: U.S. state, State
- **subdivision name1**: Kansas
- **subdivision type2**: List of counties in Kansas, County
- **subdivision name2**: Decatur County, Kansas, Decatur
- **subdivision type3**: List of townships in Kansas, Township
- **established title**: Founded
- **established date**: 1872
- **established title1**: Platted
- **established date1**: 1878
- **established title2**: Municipal corporation, Incorporated
- **established date2**: 1885
- **named for**: Oberlin, Ohio
- **leader title**: Mayor
- **leader name**: Chris Kaiser
- **leader title1**: City Manager
- **leader name1**: David Sporn
- **area total sq mi**: 1.91
- **area land sq mi**: 1.91
- **area water sq mi**: 0.00
- **area total km2**: 4.95
- **area land km2**: 4.95
- **area water km2**: 0.00
- **unit pref**: Imperial
- **elevation ft**: 2569
- **population as of**: 2020 United States census, 2020
- **population total**: 1644
- **population density sq mi**: auto
- **population density km2**: auto
- **timezone**: Central Time Zone, CST
- **utc offset**: -6
- **timezone dst**: CDT
- **utc offset dst**: -5
- **postal code type**: ZIP code
- **postal code**: 67749
- **area code type**: North American Numbering Plan, Area code
- **area code**: Area code 785, 785
- **blank name**: Federal Information Processing Standard, FIPS code
- **blank info**: 20-52000
- **blank1 name**: Geographic Names Information System, GNIS ID
- **blank1 info**: 485632