Boulders

Around Tappan Square there are three large boulders with plaques on them. One sits south of the Memorial Arch on Professor St. facing King. Two are on the south edge of the square facing the Conservatory and Gibsons.

There is an additional boulder outside of Oberlin High School.

[edit] History

It is somewhat of an Oberlin tradition that the boulders are always painted. In fact, there are so many layers of paint on the boulders that the plaques are pretty much unreadable. However, thanks to Aaron Mucciolo for going to the Archives, and the Oberlin Review for printing it, we know the stories behind two of the boulders:

The boulder by the fire pit, across from the Conservatory, is the 'boulder of the class of 1898.' Its plaque reads: "Glacial boulder of granitoid gneiss from eastern Canada, excavated from 10 feet below the surface of the northwest corner of Professor and Morgan Streets and placed here by the class of '98 during the night of Dec. 3 1897." [...] The other boulder, across from Gibson's, is known as the Founder's boulder and reads: "In memory of John J. Shipherd and Philo P. Stewart. Dedicated June 17, 1933."

(Excerpt from "Pointless Questions...with Aaron Mucciolo." The Oberlin Review, 8 March 2002. [1] accessed 5 Jan 2005. Links added.)

Oberlinians have long spoken of painting "The Rock," even though there are three large boulders on the square. "The Rock is Rolled Into Town" is a brief account of the origins of painting The Rock:

The tradition began in 1962, when the largest rocks in Tappan Square were brightly painted one day before Easter. A nearby sign read: "Glacial Easter Eggs Laid by the Class of 1964." More incidents followed. Frustrated, the College spent hundreds of dollars sandblasting the stone clean, while others suggested placing it inside the Allen Memorial Art Museum. Finally the institution admitted defeat. Today, the painted rock, with messages from town and gown, remains a thriving Oberlin tradition.

(Excerpt from "The Rock is Rolled into Town." Oberlin College Student Handbook, 2003–2004, p. 29. This source lists other resources, including A.C. Norris, “The Class of ’98 Boulder.” Oberlin Alumni Magazine, March 1954 p. 13–14, and “Pranksters’ Painting of Rock May Backfire,” Oberlin News-Tribune, December 13, 1962.)