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History · Oxford Township

Oxford Township dates to 1809, and 16 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Oxford Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. 16 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 5 buildings. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1960 on, and the census since 1820.

1809founded
16on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Oxford Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Oxford Township began

When was Oxford Township founded?

1809

Oxford Township dates its founding to 1809 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 258 in 18202020 census: 25,469217 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1817.The full story ↓

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.

Landmarks on the Register16 places on the National Register.Deep rootsEstablished in 1809: 217 years of Oxford Township.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

16 historic places in Oxford Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 2 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier.

places listed
16
National Historic Landmarks
2
none yet
historic buildings protected
40
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Pugh's Mill Covered Bridge
Pugh's Mill Covered BridgeHunting Lodge FarmAustin-Magie Farm and Mill District
BuildingsDistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

English Gothic1
Greek Revival1
Vernacular1
Pugh's Mill Covered BridgeStructure
Hunting Lodge FarmEnglish Gothic
Austin-Magie Farm and Mill DistrictVernacular

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

Timeline

Oxford Township, 1809 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1809
    FoundingOxford Township is established
  3. 1849Post officeThe Contreras post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900In the archiveNorthwest entrance to Miami University campus ca. 1900
  6. 1903Post officeThe Contreras post office closes
  7. 1911In the archiveColburn Players performing on stage 1911
  8. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Oxford Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oxford Township.

Read it all →

Oxford lies within the Congress Lands West of Miami River. In 1803, the United States Congress granted one township to the Ohio General Assembly in the region to build a college. The Ohio Legislature selected a township off Four Mile Creek, the College Township, and chartered Miami University in 1809.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Oxford Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s8 items
Northwest entrance to Miami University campus ca. 1900c. 1900Northwest entrance to Miami University campus ca. 1900Students in Oxford College dormitory room ca. 1900c. 1900Students in Oxford College dormitory room ca. 1900Women in procession at Oxford Street Fair ca. 1900c. 1900Women in procession at Oxford Street Fair ca. 1900Exercises in the Great Tent at commencement 19071907Exercises in the Great Tent at commencement 1907Group portrait of 93rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry at reunion 19081908Group portrait of 93rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry at reu…Oxford College women at railroad depot 19081908Oxford College women at railroad depot 1908Dirt road near C.H.and D. Railroad crossing 19091909Dirt road near C.H.and D. Railroad crossing 1909Rail car at C.H.and D. Railroad Crossing 19091909Rail car at C.H.and D. Railroad Crossing 1909
1910s2 items
Colburn Players performing on stage 19111911Colburn Players performing on stage 1911Students working with machinery in Professor Whitcomb's class 19111911Students working with machinery in Professor Whitcomb…
1920s–1990snothing 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
On the map

Oxford Township on the map, 1960 to 1992

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

Oxford Township on the 1960 USGS mapOxford Township on the 1974 USGS mapOxford Township on the 1992 USGS map1960College Corner 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 Township.

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.

Northwest entrance to Miami University campus ca. 1900
Retake this viewNorthwest entrance to Miami University campus ca. 1900, c. 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Oxford Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,000185019001950200023,035

Grew from 258 people in 1820 to 23,035 in 2020, more than tenfold.

20 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Another post office, Contreras, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
ContrerasMcDonald
Gone or out of use
Contreras Post Officepost officeContreras Post Officepost officeDeep FordcrossingNation SchoolschoolNike Site CD-78CmilitaryNike Site CD-78LmilitarySchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 3schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 7schoolSchool Number 9school

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

Help out

Finish Oxford Township’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNorthwest entrance to Miami University …: 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.

Israel Township2 historic placesA+Reily Township1 historic placeA−Milford Township2 historic placesA−College Corner1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Oxford Township’s history

What year was Oxford Township founded?

In 1809, according to Wikidata. Oxford Township’s post office opened in 1817, and the census of 1820 counted 258 people here.

What is on the National Register in Oxford Township?

16 listings, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks: 1 building, 1 historic district, the Austin-Magie Farm and Mill District, with 5 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 40 historic buildings in all.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (10), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.