JOHN SHIPHERD'S VISION FOR OBERLIN could not long endure. Despite his intention to establish an isolated colony exclusively for the “hopefully pious” and free from worldly distractions, the town's growing population and prosperity eventually attracted the “manufacturers and workmen” that the founders had hoped to avoid. As Oberlin expanded, so did the opportunities for commerce, thus leading merchants, jobbers, brokers, artisans, teamsters and haulers, and others to set up shop around the central square. Some of the businesses, of course, were run by faithful Oberliners, but many were run by outsiders who had no particular interest in Congregational salvation. The newcomers, needless to say, required services that the Oberliners themselves could not provide, especially alcohol and diversion, which were scorned by Reverend Finney's temperance-minded followers. It was therefore inevitable that there would be “saloons and other nuisances,” as James Fairchild once put it, if only to serve the many travelers, craftsmen, and others who found themselves in Oberlin for reasons other than piety.

Thus came Chauncy Wack's establishment, located on South Main Street not far from the Episcopal Church, and variously described as an inn, a hotel, and a tavern. The proprietor was a native of Vermont who had inherited none of New England's abolitionist spirit. Wack was out of place in Oberlin in many ways. He smoked, he drank, he voted for Democrats, and he was favorably inclined toward slavery. If that was not enough to make him an outsider, it was even said that he danced with his wife. But Wack had also identified an important niche in Oberlin's business community by offering food and lodging to those who were not satisfied by the plain fare and spartan conditions provided at the college-owned Palmer House, which was the only other hotel in town.

By the time Anson Dayton returned to Oberlin in 1858, with his deputy marshal's commission in hand, Wack's tavern had long been recognized as a gathering place for Oberlin's Episcopalians, misfits, and eccentrics.