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History · Oxford Junction

Oxford Junction’s post office opened in 1872, and 60% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1880.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
60%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Oxford Junction began

When was Oxford Junction founded?

1872

The Oxford Junction post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Garfield (1880), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 349 in 18802020 census: 424154 years
Founding year: the first Oxford Junction post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Oxford Junction’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Oxford Junction are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Oxford Junction’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 822 in 1910; 424 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1895 to 1914, drew every building in Oxford Junction.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oxford Junction’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oxford Junction’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Oxford Junction came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oxford Junction.

Read it all →

Oxford Junction was platted in 1871, at the time the now-defunct railroad was built. The town is named for its location at the junction of two branches of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Oxford Junction, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 822

Peaked at 822 in 1910; 424 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Oxford Junction’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Oxford Junction, 1872 to 1910

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Oxford Junction post office opens
  3. 1880Post officeThe Garfield post office opens
  4. 1884Post officeThe Garfield post office closes
  5. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 822
By decade

Oxford Junction, decade by decade

Today6 recent
United Methodist Church2014United Methodist ChurchSaint Mark Lutheran Church2014Saint Mark Lutheran ChurchSacred Heart Church2014Sacred Heart ChurchOxford Junction, Iowa2014Oxford Junction, IowaAssembly of God Church2014Assembly of God ChurchIAMap-doton-OxfordJunction2004IAMap-doton-OxfordJunction
On the map

Oxford Junction on the map, 1892 to 1980

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Oxford Junction. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Oxford Junction on the 1892 USGS mapOxford Junction on the 1980 USGS map1892Wheatland sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Oxford Junction.

Every building

Oxford Junction, building by building, 1895–1914

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.

Oxford Junction fire insurance map, 1895, sheet 11895Sheet 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.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Oxford Junction’s post office has been open since 1872. Another post office, Garfield, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Oxford Junction
1872–today
Garfield
1880–1884
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Oxford Junctionlocale

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Oxford Junction’s history

What year was Oxford Junction founded?

The Oxford Junction post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, 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.