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General History of
OXFORD, NEBRASKA
Photos coming!
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The
beginning of Oxford was on December 20, 1878,
when William Gillan was given his "final
receiver's receipt" and handed abstract title
No. 767 for certain lands at the eastern edge
of Furnas County. Nine days later William and
his wife Caroline deeded a portion of this land
to Jacob Struve for $ 200. Through a legal pre-arrangement,
Struve had granted the Republican Valley Railroad
Company (later to become part of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy) a right of way over the
land to construct their railroad.
Actually, railroad stakes had been driven on
what was to become the town site in October
1879, before the title for the land had been
cleared. The arrival of the fist train as it
crossed the Harlan County line into Oxford was
greeted with a large crowd of onlookers, February
17, 1880. The main line still runs right through
the middle of town, but the trains do not stop
to leave-off mail or take on passengers.
It is believed that the first schoolhouse was
a sod structure northwest of the present school
yard. School was held in at least two other
locations in Oxford before a brick building
was completed at the present school site in
1887. (the present site of the Oxford Elementary
School.)
On June 10, 1880, the town site of Oxford was
dedicated "for public use" by Jacob
Struve, Clara Pease, and A. E. Tonzalin, trustees.
There was, however, no great rush to build as
two years later it was noted that there were
only seven occupied dwellings in the town.
There are several versions of how Oxford got
its name. Some claim it was a ford on the Republican
River where oxen could cross and thus "Ox-ford."
Others suggest it was probably named for Oxford
University in England, while another version
is that the railroad surveying crew named it
for Oxford, Ohio.
In June 1884, a petition signed by 23 citizens,
was presented to the commissioners of Furnas
County. With that action, the Village of Oxford
was formally incorporated. The first graduating
class from Oxford High School walked across
the stage in May 1894.
In 1906 the citizens of Oxford voted 92 to 32
in favor of establishing a water system. And
electric system was installed in 1913 following
a note on the matter. A new larger schoolhouse
was built in 1921, with a gymnasium and elementary
school added later. The first paving, an oil
mat on Main Street, was added in 1938.
Oxford has six active churches, some with
organizations going back to the 1880's. Records
indicate that even prior to that time, meetings
and services were held in homes of early settlers.
Today, Oxford has many active organizations
and the town has two city parks, a good ball
diamond, swimming pool and library. The community
also supports a nine-hole golf course, racquetball
court, club house, movie theater and disc golf
course. Oxford's K-12 School has merged with Beaver City and Orleans to form Southern Valley Schools.
Primarily a farming community with a population
of nearly 900, Oxford has had many industries
over the years. Some of these were C. A. Swanson,
which made some of the first TV dinners, the
Oxford Cheese Factory processing cheese for
the Tony's Pizza Company, Better Buys, Inc.
which manufactured aluminum storm windows and
doors and the Dynamic Forge Corporation which
manufactured aircraft parts.
Oxford is now home to Merrick's of Nebraska
which processes animal by-products into baby
animal feed; Cargill, Inc. supplying the many
area ag producers with fertilizer, chemicals
and seeds; and Mid Nebraska Individual Services
which provides an education facility and workshop
for mentally handicapped individuals as well
as employment opportunities for people in the
community.
The town of Oxford has weathered six business
fires plus grasshopper plagues, depressions,
and dust storms. The community suffered the
loss of many lives and materials in the flood
of 1935, and homes and businesses's were destroyed
in a tornado in 1916. The community feels the
effect of the recent farm economic problems.
We are fortunate to have an active Chamber of
Commerce and a full main street with a good
line of merchandise.
The people of Oxford have a very positive attitude,
and are looking forward to the future just as
our forefathers did when they started our village
over 100 years ago.
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General
History |
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Historical
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