3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 21 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1844.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 96% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oxford’s overall grade.
Indiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Indiana town has 7.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Oxford’s 216 sits above most of its state (88% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 24 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.8 points). Two sources give 1843.
Founding year: Wikidata (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.
Oxford was Benton County's first town. Commissioners appointed by the Indiana General Assembly selected the location in May 1843 to be the site of the county seat on land donated by Henry W. Ellsworth and David Atkinson. It was first called Milroy in honor of Samuel Milroy, one of the commissioners, but a town in Rush County already bore that name. In October 1843 the commissioners changed it to Hartford, after Hartford, Connecticut (the home of Ellsworth and Watkins), but they discovered this name was also already being used in Indiana, so in December Judge David J. McConnell awarded the town its present name.
in a cabinet-shop for a year, at the end of that time again taking up the pursuit of agriculture, which he has followed since. He was engaged in farming in Oxford village for a season, in the town of Oxford for a year; and he then purchased a small farm in the latter place, which he tilled for seven years. Exchanging that property for a farm in the north-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Centennial history of Norway, Oxford County, Maine, 1786-1886, including an account of the early grants and purchases, sketches of the grantees, early settlers, and prominent residents, etc., with genealogical registers, and an appendix1886 · page 93Read the page →
Read the text
Livermore had been settled previous to Buckfield, and Jay, which then included Canton, and was formerly an Oxford County town granted to David Phipps and associates, and called Phipps Canada, was settled contemporaneous with Paris. To the south of Norway, Oxford which constituted a part of the grant to Alexander Sheppard Jr., first called Sheppardsfield and incorporated as Hebron, was settled in 1778 or 1779, and Otisfield, granted to James Otis in 1777, had several settlers when Joseph Stevens and others moved into Rustfield from Gray.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
his earnings for a long time, he was at last able to buy some property in the town of Paris. About the year 1871 he purchased a farm in the town of Oxford, where he has since resided. The estate contains about one hundred and twenty-five acres of good farming land.' Fxcepting the residence, the buildings and outhouses, which are all modern, were
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Centennial history of Norway, Oxford County, Maine, 1786-1886, including an account of the early grants and purchases, sketches of the grantees, early settlers, and prominent residents, etc., with genealogical registers, and an appendix1886 · page 305Read the page →
Read the text
The Oxford County Agricultural Society is an association of farmers and mechanics from a large number of Oxford County towns, and formerly comprised the entire county, including the towns of Turner and Livermore, but the fact that its grounds are situated partly in Norway and quite near the village, and that Norway farmers have had much to do with its management and contributed largely to its success, renders it proper that a brief sketch of its early proceedings should be given in this history. A charter for an Agricultural Society in Oxford
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.
Timeline
Oxford, 1843 to 1962
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Oxford. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1962Templeton sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Oxford.
Every building
Oxford, building by building, 1905–1919
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.
1905Sheet 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.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewAmanda Smith (The message, 1910), 1910
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Oxford’s page.
Between 318 and 1,327 people in every census since 1860.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Oxford’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Oxford’s history
What year was Oxford founded?
In 1843, according to Wikidata. Oxford’s post office opened in 1844, and the census of 1860 counted 318 people here.
How does Oxford rank for history?
Oxford is more historic than 96% 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.
What is on the National Register in Oxford?
Three places: the Presbyterian Church Building (listed 1984), the David S. Heath House (1999) and the Oxford Town Square Historic District (2026).
How old are the homes in Oxford?
47% of Oxford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.8 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1950.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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