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AHistory
History · Oxford

Oxford dates to 1687, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #92 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it

5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 210 buildings. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1790.

1687founded
5on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
12famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Oxford’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Oxford began

When was Oxford founded?

1687

Oxford dates its founding to 1687 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 1,000 in 17902020 census: 13,347339 years

How historic is Oxford?

A

More historic than 94% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1800.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 94% of U.S. towns, #92 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oxford’s overall grade.
Founding era1687, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194019.2% of homes (±4.5) · typical MA town 21.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register5 listings, 213 historic buildings, 159 per 10,000 residents · typical MA town 46.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 94%
NewerOlder
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 68%

Massachusetts towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Massachusetts town has 46.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Oxford’s 159 sits above most of its state (72% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 213 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1687.
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 (±4.5 points).

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.

A historic districtThe Oxford Main Street Historic District takes in 210 historic buildings.On the map since 18898 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1982. Watch Oxford change.Older than the countryEstablished in 1687, 89 years before the Declaration of Independence.Lost villages8 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

5 listings protect 213 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
213
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Clara Barton Homestead
Clara Barton Homestead, built 1818Hudson House, built 1720Huguenot FortBartlett's Bridge, built 1889Oxford Main Street Historic District
BuildingsDistrictsSitesStructures

Architectural styles listings

Cape1
Federal1
Early Classical Revival1
Greek Revival1
Gothic Revival1
Italianate1
Clara Barton HomesteadCape · Built 1818
Hudson HouseBuilt 1720
Huguenot FortSite
Bartlett's BridgeBuilt 1889
Oxford Main Street Historic DistrictFederal

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

On the map

Oxford on the map, 1889 to 1982

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

Oxford on the 1889 USGS mapOxford on the 1892 USGS mapOxford on the 1921 USGS mapOxford on the 1946 USGS mapOxford on the 1953 USGS mapOxford on the 1964 USGS mapOxford on the 1979 USGS mapOxford on the 1982 USGS map1889Webster 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.

Timeline

Oxford, 1687 to 1990

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1687
    FoundingOxford is established
  3. 18th century
  4. 1720BuiltHudson House is built
  5. 19th century
  6. 1800Post officeThe Oxford post office opens
  7. 1818BuiltClara Barton Homestead is built
  8. 1821Born hereClara Barton is born here
  9. 1835Born hereRichard Olney is born here
  10. 1836Post officeThe North Oxford post office opens
  11. 1869Born hereElliott P. Joslin is born here
  12. 1889BuiltBartlett's Bridge is built
  13. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 1899In the archive1899 Oxford public library Massachusetts
  15. 20th century
  16. 1900In the archiveBirthplace of Clara Barton, North Oxford, Mass
  17. 1912In the archiveClara Barton's birthplace at Oxford, Massachusetts
  18. 1919Born hereMatthew Sands is born here
  19. 1990In the archiveBartlett's Bridge, Spanning French River on Clara Barton Road, Oxford (Worcester County, …
The story

How Oxford came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oxford.

Read it all →

Present day Oxford and the areas surrounding it were inhabited for thousands of years before European colonization. Although archaeological sites exist in Central Massachusetts dating back to the Paleoindian period (12,000–9000 years before present) there are much more abundant archaeological remains starting in the period from 6500 to 3000 years before present, including an arrowhead identified in Oxford Massachusetts. An arrowhead collected at an archaeological site in Oxford has been radiocarbon dated to 2990 ± 155 years before present.

ChaptersPre-Colonial EraContact EraColonial Era

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Oxford, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1900s8 items
1899 Oxford public library Massachusetts18991899 Oxford public library MassachusettsBirthplace of Clara Barton, North Oxford, Mass1900Birthplace of Clara Barton, North Oxford, MassUpper mill and small office building of Stephen and David Barton, North Oxford, Massachusetts1900Upper mill and small office building of Stephen and D…Second home of Clara Barton at age 9 (Jeremiah Sarned home)1900Second home of Clara Barton at age 9 (Jeremiah Sarned…Worcester and Southbridge Street Railway substation, 19021902Worcester and Southbridge Street Railway substation, …Oxford Center trolley postcard1907–1915Oxford Center trolley postcardPostcardThe Story of My Childhood1907The Story of My ChildhoodBookSeal of1908Seal of
1910s1 item
Clara Barton's birthplace at Oxford, Massachusetts1912Clara Barton's birthplace at Oxford, Massachusetts
1920s–1980snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1990s1 item
Bartlett's Bridge, Spanning French River on Clara Barton Road, Oxford (Worcester County, Massachusetts)1990Bartlett's Bridge, Spanning French River on Clara Bar…
Today6 recent
Hudson House2010Hudson HouseHodges Village Dam, Hodges Village MA2010Hodges Village Dam, Hodges Village MAFrench River south of West Main Street, Hodges Village MA2010French River south of West Main Street, Hodges Villag…First Congregational Church2010First Congregational ChurchMA Route 56 southbound in2009MA Route 56 southbound inOxford, Massachusetts2008Oxford, Massachusetts
Every building

Oxford, building by building, 1911–1922

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 fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 11911Sheet 1 of 16
Edition
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.

1899 Oxford public library Massachusetts
Retake this view1899 Oxford public library Massachusetts, 1899

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Oxford’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Oxford, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00018001850190019502000Peak: 13,709

Between 1,000 and 13,709 people in every census since 1790.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Famous people

12 famous people were born in Oxford

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Clara BartonAmerican Civil War nurse · b. 1821
Richard OlneyAmerican politician and statesman · b. 1835
M
Matthew SandsAmerican accelerator physicist · b. 1919
Elliott P. JoslinAmerican physician · b. 1869
George L. LilleyAmerican politician · b. 1859
J
Jade CurtisBritish grand slam female tennis player · b. 1990
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Oxford’s post office has been open since 1800.

Oxford
1800–today
North Oxford
1836–today
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BuffumvilleCamp BartonCominsvilleHodges VillageNorth OxfordOrchard Hills EstatesTexasWest Oxford
Gone or out of use
BuffumvillelocaleOxford AirportairportSaccarappalocale
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Oxford
GoreNorthSaint Roch'sSouth

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

Help out

Finish Oxford’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1899 Oxford public library Massachusetts: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Millbury3 historic placesA−Auburn3 historic placesA−Charlton4 historic placesA−Sutton5 historic placesADudley4 historic placesADouglas3 historic placesA

Questions about Oxford’s history

What year was Oxford founded?

In 1687, according to Wikidata. Oxford’s post office opened in 1800, and the first U.S. census counted 1,000 people here in 1790.

How does Oxford rank for history?

Oxford is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #92 of 283 in Massachusetts. 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?

5 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Clara Barton Homestead (listed 1977, the first), 1 historic district, the Oxford Main Street Historic District, with 210 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 1 structure. 213 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Oxford?

19% of Oxford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1972.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.