Oxford’s post office opened in 1848, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #60 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Most of Oxford was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.
The Oxford post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1850. Three smaller post offices, Boiling Spring (1846), Snows Creek (1848) and Marthadell (1879), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 780 in 18802020 census: 22,069178 years
How historic is Oxford?
B
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Oxford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1850.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Oxford’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oxford is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #60 of 187 in Alabama. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oxford’s overall grade.
Alabama towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Alabama town has 2.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Oxford’s 2.7 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1850.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Oxford’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
AntiochAntiochColdwaterGroce-MontgomeryOconeeOxford Memorial Gardens
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Oxford, building by building, 1885–1928
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Oxford, 1832 to 1994
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Founded in the early 1850s, Oxford was the first city in Calhoun County to be incorporated, in 1852. The name "Oxford" was due to the presence of a narrow crossing of Chocolocco Creek that allowed farmers to ford cattle from one side of the creek to the other. Since 1970, Oxford has annexed large amounts of land to the south and west, including the communities of Coldwater and Bynum. In 1970, it was all in Calhoun County, but today it includes areas in Talladega County and Cleburne County.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Oxford post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1850.
How does Oxford rank for history?
Oxford is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #60 of 187 in Alabama. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Oxford?
4 listings: 3 buildings and 1 structure. 6 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Oxford?
2% of Oxford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1983.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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