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History · University

2 of University’s places are on the National Register

Below: maps from 1940 on.

2on the National Register
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What stands out about University’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 University are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A National Historic Landmark2 places on the National Register, including Lyceum-The Circle Historic District, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start University’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how University’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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On the National Register

2 listings protect 9 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmark
1
Lyceum-The Circle Historic District
historic buildings protected
9
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Barnard Observatory
Barnard Observatory, built 1856Lyceum-The Circle Historic District★
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival2
Classical1
★ Landmark
Lyceum-The Circle Historic DistrictGreek Revival
Barnard ObservatoryGreek Revival · Built 1856

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

The story so far

University, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of University yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

University is a census-designated place (CDP) and the official name for an area covering a portion of the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) campus, in Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. The CDP is surrounded by the city of Oxford. Its official United States Postal Service designation is "University, Mississippi", with a ZIP Code of 38677. As of the 2020 census, University had a population of 4,696. while the 2014 enrollment for Ole Miss was 20,112 in 2014. The University CDP is an enclave surrounded by the city of Oxford, west of its downtown area. It has an area of 0.70 square miles (1.82 km2), all of it recorded as land.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,202 to 4,696 (+12%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

University, 1856 to 2008

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856BuiltBarnard Observatory is built
  3. 20th century
  4. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 21st century
  6. 2008LandmarkLyceum-The Circle Historic District named a National Historic Landmark
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.

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On the map

University on the map, 1940 to 1980

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

University on the 1940 USGS mapUniversity on the 1980 USGS map1940Oxford 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 University.

Questions about University’s history

What is on the National Register in University?

Two places: the Lyceum-The Circle Historic District (listed 2008) and the Barnard Observatory (1978).

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 the National Register of Historic Places (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.