Oberlin, LA

Oberlin is the seat of Allen Parish, a small Louisiana town named for Johann Friedrich Oberlin and set at the meeting of U.S. 165 and Louisiana 26. The town was incorporated in 1900, while the parish itself was created in 1912 from Calcasieu Parish and chose Oberlin as its seat. The Allen Parish Courthouse dates from the parish's first years, and its Classical Revival mass at the end of Sixth Avenue is the town's clearest landmark.

Most of Oberlin's map is practical: parish offices, courthouse, U.S. 165 traffic, and schools. Allen Parish School Board runs Oberlin Elementary and Oberlin High, and Oberlin Covenant provides a private option. The town also carries the memory of Ernest S. Clements, a local politician who later served in the state Senate and on the Louisiana Public Service Commission. Oberlin is not trying to be a big city; it is a parish-seat town where one courthouse, two highways, and school buildings do most of the civic work.