The Oxford Township post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Oxford (1840), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,176186 years
How historic is Oxford Township?
B+
More historic than 71% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Oxford Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Oxford Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oxford Township is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oxford Township’s overall grade.
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Oxford Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Oxford Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Oxford Township is one of twenty-four townships in Henry County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,176 and it contained 543 housing units.
Its first post office opened in 1840. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,213 to 1,176 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Oxford Township in 1885
Passages that mention Oxford Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Portrait and biographical album of Henry County, Illinois1885 · page 459Read the page →
Read the text
this State in 1853, and settled in Pike County, where he engaged in mercantile business, which he followed for six years. He then, in 1858, sold out and came to Oxford Township, this county, where he rented a farm, which he continued to cultivate until 1863
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Portrait and biographical album of Henry County, Illinois1885 · page 604Read the page →
Read the text
Railroad. His next business was in instructing the surveyor of Mercer County in the details of his duties, and he went to Iowa to aid in the State surveys. In 1857 he returned to Oxford Township, in Henry County, and has since resided in Illinois. On coming hither he interested himself in farming and pursued that vocation until the outbreak of the Civil War.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
The Oxford Township post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Oxford Township rank for history?
Oxford Township is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Oxford Township?
31% of Oxford Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.8 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
