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Oxford, Mississippi

Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County. Founded in 1837, it was named after the British city of Oxford. The University of Mississippi, also known as "Ole Miss" is located adjacent to the city.

Oxford, Mississippi
Location of Oxford, Mississippi
Oxford, Mississippi
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 34°21′35″N 89°31′34″W / 34.35972°N 89.52611°W / 34.35972; -89.52611Coordinates: 34°21′35″N 89°31′34″W / 34.35972°N 89.52611°W / 34.35972; -89.52611
CountryUnited States
StateMississippi
CountyLafayette
Government
 • MayorRobyn Tannehill [1]
Area
 • Total26.71 sq mi (69.18 km2)
 • Land26.62 sq mi (68.94 km2)
 • Water0.09 sq mi (0.24 km2)
Elevation
505 ft (154 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total25,416
 • Density954.88/sq mi (368.68/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Code
38655
Area code662
FIPS code28-54840
GNIS feature ID0691644
Websitewww.oxfordms.net
A double-decker tourist bus and the former Mississippi state flag contrast beside the Lafayette County Courthouse in Oxford, during the 2007 Double Decker Festival.

Purchasing the land from a Chickasaw, pioneers founded Oxford in 1837. In 1841, the Mississippi State Legislature selected it as the site of the state's first university, Ole Miss. Oxford is also the hometown of Nobel Prize-winning novelist William Faulkner, and served as the inspiration for his fictional Jefferson in Yoknapatawpha County. Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, who served as a US Supreme Court Justice and Secretary of the Interior, also lived and is buried in Oxford.

As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 25,416.[3]

History

Oxford and Lafayette County were formed from lands ceded by the Chickasaw people in the Treaty of Pontotoc Creek in 1832. The county was organized in 1836, and in 1837 three pioneers—John Martin, John Chisom, and John Craig—purchased land from Hoka, a female Chickasaw landowner, as a site for the town.[4] They named it "Oxford", intending to promote it as a center of learning in the Old Southwest.[5] In 1841, the Mississippi legislature selected Oxford as the site of the state university, which opened in 1848.

During the American Civil War, Oxford was occupied by Union Army troops under Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman in 1862; in 1864 Major General Andrew Jackson Smith burned the buildings in the town square, including the county courthouse. In the postwar Reconstruction era, the town recovered slowly, aided by federal judge Robert Andrews Hill, who secured funds to build a new courthouse in 1872.

During this period many African American freedmen moved from farms into town and established a neighborhood known as "Freedmen Town", where they built houses, businesses, churches and schools, and exercised all the rights of citizenship.[6] Even after Mississippi disenfranchised most African Americans in the 1890 Constitution of Mississippi, they continued to build their lives in the face of discrimination.

During the Civil Rights Movement, Oxford drew national attention in the Ole Miss riot of 1962. State officials, including Governor Ross Barnett, prevented James Meredith, an African American, from enrolling at the University of Mississippi, even after the federal courts had ruled that he be admitted. Following secret face-saving negotiations with Barnett, President John F. Kennedy ordered 127 U.S. Marshals, 316 deputized U.S. Border Patrol agents and 97 federalized Federal Bureau of Prisons officers to accompany Meredith.[7] Thousands of armed "volunteers" flowed into the Oxford area. Meredith traveled to Oxford under armed guard to register, but riots by segregationists broke out in protest of his admittance.

That night, cars were burned, federal law enforcement were pelted with rocks, bricks and small arms fire, and university property was damaged by 3,000 rioters. Two civilians were killed by gunshot wounds, and the riot spread into adjacent areas of the city of Oxford.[8] Order was finally restored to the campus with the early morning arrival of 3,000 nationalized Mississippi National Guard and federal troops, who camped in the city.[9]

More than 3,000 journalists came to Oxford on September 26, 2008, to cover the first presidential debate of 2008, which was held at the University of Mississippi.[10]

Geography

Oxford is in central Lafayette County in northern Mississippi, about 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.7 square miles (69.2 km2), of which 26.6 square miles (68.9 km2) are land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km2), or 0.35%, is water.[11] The campus of the University of Mississippi, west of downtown, is an unincorporated area surrounded by the city.

The city is located in the North Central Hills region of Mississippi. The region is known for its heavily forested hills made up of red clay. The area is higher and greater in relief than areas to the west (such as the Mississippi Delta or loess bluffs along the Delta), but lower in elevation than areas in northeast Mississippi. The changes in elevation can be noticed when traveling on the Highway 6 bypass, since the east-west highway tends to transect many of the north-south ridges. Downtown Oxford sits on one of these ridges and the University of Mississippi sits on another one, while the main commercial corridors on either side of the city sit in valleys.

Oxford is located at the confluence of highways from eight directions: Mississippi Highway 6 (now co-signed with US-278) runs west 25 miles (40 km) to Batesville and east 31 miles (50 km) to Pontotoc; Highway 7 runs north 30 miles (48 km) to Holly Springs and south 18 miles (29 km) to Water Valley. Highway 30 goes northeast 33 miles (53 km) to New Albany; Highway 334 ("Old Highway 6") leads southeast 19 miles (31 km) to Toccopola; Taylor Road leads southwest 9 miles (14 km) to Taylor; and Highway 314 ("Old Sardis Road") leads northwest, formerly to Sardis but now 11 miles (18 km) to the Clear Creek Recreation Area on Sardis Lake.

The streets in the downtown area follow a grid pattern with two naming conventions. Many of the north-south streets are numbered from west to east, beginning at the old railroad depot, with numbers from four to nineteen. The place of "Twelfth Street", however, is taken by North and South Lamar Boulevard (formerly North Street and South Street). The east-west avenues are named for the U.S. presidents in chronological order from north to south, from Washington to Cleveland; here again, there are gaps: there is no street for John Quincy Adams, who shares a last name with John Adams; "Polk Avenue" is replaced by University Avenue; and "Arthur Avenue" is lacking.

Climate

Oxford has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) and is in hardiness zone 7b.

Climate data for Oxford, Mississippi (University of Mississippi) 1991–2020, extremes 1893–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 80
(27)
83
(28)
91
(33)
93
(34)
98
(37)
104
(40)
108
(42)
107
(42)
111
(44)
98
(37)
87
(31)
81
(27)
110
(43)
Average high °F (°C) 52.3
(11.3)
57.1
(13.9)
65.8
(18.8)
74.2
(23.4)
82.0
(27.8)
88.6
(31.4)
91.3
(32.9)
91.0
(32.8)
86.2
(30.1)
76.1
(24.5)
64.3
(17.9)
55.0
(12.8)
73.7
(23.2)
Daily mean °F (°C) 41.4
(5.2)
45.4
(7.4)
53.5
(11.9)
61.6
(16.4)
70.4
(21.3)
77.7
(25.4)
80.7
(27.1)
79.8
(26.6)
73.9
(23.3)
62.6
(17.0)
51.9
(11.1)
44.2
(6.8)
61.9
(16.6)
Average low °F (°C) 30.6
(−0.8)
33.8
(1.0)
41.2
(5.1)
48.9
(9.4)
58.9
(14.9)
66.8
(19.3)
70.2
(21.2)
68.6
(20.3)
61.6
(16.4)
49.2
(9.6)
39.5
(4.2)
33.3
(0.7)
50.2
(10.1)
Record low °F (°C) −13
(−25)
−10
(−23)
7
(−14)
21
(−6)
31
(−1)
43
(6)
50
(10)
48
(9)
32
(0)
20
(−7)
6
(−14)
−10
(−23)
−13
(−25)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 5.13
(130)
5.82
(148)
5.61
(142)
6.30
(160)
5.35
(136)
5.22
(133)
4.35
(110)
3.90
(99)
3.99
(101)
4.10
(104)
4.30
(109)
6.45
(164)
60.52
(1,537)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 0.8
(2.0)
0.2
(0.51)
0.1
(0.25)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.1
(0.25)
1.2
(3.0)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 12.0 10.8 11.7 10.3 11.0 10.2 10.0 8.8 7.4 7.9 9.8 12.2 122.1
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 0.6 0.4 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 1.4
Source: NOAA[12][13]

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1850492
18701,422
18801,5347.9%
18901,5460.8%
19001,82017.7%
19102,01410.7%
19202,1506.8%
19302,89034.4%
19403,43318.8%
19503,95615.2%
19605,28333.5%
19708,51961.3%
19809,88216.0%
19909,9841.0%
200011,75617.7%
201018,91660.9%
202025,41634.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[14]

2020 census

Oxford Racial Composition[15]
Race Num. Perc.
White 16,559 65.15%
Black or African American 5,656 22.25%
Native American 12 0.05%
Asian 1,279 5.03%
Pacific Islander 7 0.03%
Other/Mixed 861 3.39%
Hispanic or Latino 1,042 4.1%

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 25,416 people, 10,351 households, and 5,089 families residing in the city.

2010 census

As of the census[16] of 2010, there were 18,916 people, with 8,648 households residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 72.3% White, 21.8% African American, 0.3% Native American, 3.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 1.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.5% of the population. The average household size was 2.09.

The median income for a household in the city was $38,872, and the average household income was $64,643. The per capita income for the city was $29,195.[17] About 12% of families and 32.3% of the population were below the poverty line.

Arts and culture

 
Oxford MS, Phone Booth by City Hall

Attractions

 
 
Lafayette County Court House

In addition to the historic Lafayette County Courthouse, the Square is known for an abundance of locally owned restaurants, specialty boutiques, and professional offices, along with Oxford City Hall.

  • The J. E. Neilson Co., located on the southeast corner of the Square, is the South's oldest documented store. Founded as a trading post in 1839, Neilson's continues to anchor the Oxford square. Neilsons (pronounced Nelsons) was one of the few stores to survive the burning of Oxford during the Civil war. It stands within eyesight of one of Oxford's two confederate statues (one was erected after the original faced south because the South "never retreats;" a Falkner (William added a "U") paid for the second). Neilson's also features a letter from William Faulkner, who repeatedly refused to pay debts owed to the department store. When the Great Depression hit Oxford and most of the banks in town closed, Neilson's acted as a surrogate bank, cashing paychecks for university employees and others. Neilson's is also the only store in Oxford to carry supplies for Boy Scout uniforms.
  • Square Books, founded in 1979, is an independent bookstore.[18] A sister store, Off Square Books, is several doors down the street to the east. It deals in used and remainder books and is the venue for a radio show called Thacker Mountain Radio, with host Jim Dees, that is broadcast statewide on Mississippi Public Broadcasting. The show often draws comparisons to Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion for its mix of author readings and musical guests. A third store, Square Books Jr., deals exclusively in children's books and educational toys.
  • The Lyric Theater, just off the courthouse square, is Oxford's largest music venue, with a capacity near 1200. Originally built in the late 1800s, the structure became a livery stable owned by William Faulkner's family in the early part of the 20th century. During the 1920s it became Oxford's first motion picture theater, the Lyric. In 1949, Faulkner walked from his home in Oxford to his childhood stable for the world premiere of MGM's Intruder in the Dust, adapted from one of his novels. The building housed office space and a health center from the early 1980s. After extensive restoration, the Lyric reopened on 3 July 2008 as a live music venue. It also is used occasionally for film and live drama.
  • The Gertrude Castellow Ford Center for the Performing Arts on the University of Mississippi's campus hosts a broad range of events, such as symphony performances, operas, musicals, plays, comedy tours, chamber music, and guest lectures. The Ford Center, as it is commonly known, also hosted the 2008 Presidential Debate between former President Barack Obama and Senator John McCain.
  • The University of Mississippi Museum is located on the University of Mississippi's main campus. The Robinson collection of Greek and Roman antiquities and the Millington-Barnard collection of 19th century scientific instruments are permanent collections of the museum. The museum is also home to the personal collections of Kate Skipwith and Mary Buie. The permanent exhibits are free to the public.[19]
  • The Burns-Belfry Museum was previously the Burns Methodist Episcopal Church organized by freed African Americans in 1910. Now, the museum pays tribute to its role in the Civil War era. The museum houses a permanent exhibit on African American history that spans from slavery through the Civil Rights Movement.[20]

Culture

Historic sites

 
Ammadelle (1859) was designed by Central Park co-designer Calvert Vaux.

See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Lafayette County, Mississippi[22] and the Lyceum-The Circle Historic District, University of Mississippi.

Education

The city is served by two public school districts, Oxford School District (with the majority of the area) and Lafayette County School District (with small outerlying sections).[23] The former operates Oxford High School.

It is also served by three private schools: Oxford University School, Regents School of Oxford[24] and Magnolia Montessori. Oxford is partially the home of the main campus of the University of Mississippi, known as "Ole Miss" (much of the campus is in University, Mississippi, an unincorporated enclave surrounded by the city),[25] and of the Lafayette-Yalobusha Center of Northwest Mississippi Community College. The North Mississippi Japanese Supplementary School, a Japanese weekend school, is operated in conjunction with the University of Mississippi, with classes held on campus.[26][27]

Media

  • The Oxford Eagle, founded 1865[28]
  • The Daily Mississippian, the student newspaper of The University of Mississippi, founded 1911
  • The Local Voice, a bimonthly entertainment guide and newspaper[29]

Infrastructure

Health care

The Baptist Memorial Hospital - North Mississippi, located in Oxford provides comprehensive health care services for Oxford and the surrounding area, supported by a growing number of physicians, clinics and support facilities. The North Mississippi Regional Center, a state-licensed Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IID), is located in Oxford.

Oxford is home to the National Center for Natural Products Research at the University of Mississippi's School of Pharmacy. The Center is the only facility in the United States that is federally licensed to cultivate marijuana for scientific research, and to distribute it to medical marijuana patients.

Transportation

The city operates public transportation under the name Oxford-University Transit (OUT), with bus routes throughout the city and University of Mississippi campus.[30] Ole Miss students and faculty ride free upon showing University identification.

Mississippi Central Railroad provides freight rail service to the Lafayette County Industrial Park in Oxford.

University-Oxford Airport is a public use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) northwest of the central business district of Oxford. The airport is owned by the University of Mississippi.

Notable people

 
Oxford native William Faulkner in 1954

Sister city

References

  1. ^ "Area Elected Officials". oxfordms.net. March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  2. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  3. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Oxford city, Mississippi". www.census.gov. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  4. ^ Jack Lamar Mayfield. Oxford and Ole Miss. Arcadia Publishing, 2009, p. 7.
  5. ^ "History". www.oxfordms.net. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  6. ^ . Archived from the original on August 5, 2008. Retrieved June 1, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ . Archived from the original on May 23, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  8. ^ Doyle, William. An American Insurrection: James Meredith and the Battle of Oxford, Mississippi, 1962. New York: Anchor Books, 2003.
  9. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ . Debate.olemiss.edu. September 26, 2008. Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  11. ^ "U.S. Gazetteer Files: 2019: Places: Mississippi". U.S. Census Bureau Geography Division. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  12. ^ "NowData - NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  13. ^ "Station: University, MS". U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  14. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  15. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  16. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  17. ^ Oxford, MS Household Income Statistics. CLRSearch. Retrieved on 2013-08-17.[dead link]
  18. ^ "Interview with a bookstore: Square Books, in William Faulkner's hometown". The Guardian. October 17, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  19. ^ "University Museum —". Museum.olemiss.edu. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  20. ^ "Untitled Document". Burns-belfry.com. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  21. ^ Didion, Joan (November 10, 2009). The white album (Paperback [reissue]ition ed.). ISBN 978-0374532079.
  22. ^ Thomas S. Hines (1997). William Faulkner and the Tangible Past : The Architecture of Yoknapatawpha. University of California Press.
  23. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Lafayette County, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. (PDF) from the original on July 21, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022. - Text list
  24. ^ "Regents School of Oxford". Regents School of Oxford. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  25. ^ "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: University CDP, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. (PDF) from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved August 14, 2022. Univ of Mississippi (blue text)
    "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Oxford city, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 1 (PDF p. 2/5). (PDF) from the original on July 21, 2022. Retrieved August 14, 2022. Univ of Mississippi
  26. ^ "Japanese Supplementary School." OGE-US Japan Partnership, University of Mississippi. Retrieved on February 25, 2015.
  27. ^ "周辺案内." North Mississippi Japanese Supplementary School at The University of Mississippi. Retrieved on April 1, 2015.
  28. ^ "The Oxford Eagle". The Oxford Eagle.
  29. ^ "The Local Voice | The Local Voice is Oxford, Mississippi's only locally-owned newspaper, featuring local food and drink specials, entertainment, sports, and local culture. The Local Voice covers Oxford, Ole Miss, and North Mississippi". www.thelocalvoice.net.
  30. ^ "Oxford-University Transit". Oxfordms.net. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  31. ^ Schnugg, Alyssa. . Oxford Eagle. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2014.

External links

  • City of Oxford official website
  • Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce
  • Oxford Tourism Council

oxford, mississippi, oxford, city, college, town, state, mississippi, oxford, lies, miles, south, southeast, memphis, tennessee, county, seat, lafayette, county, founded, 1837, named, after, british, city, oxford, university, mississippi, also, known, miss, lo. Oxford is a city and college town in the U S state of Mississippi Oxford lies 75 miles 121 km south southeast of Memphis Tennessee and is the county seat of Lafayette County Founded in 1837 it was named after the British city of Oxford The University of Mississippi also known as Ole Miss is located adjacent to the city Oxford MississippiCityFrom top left to right Swayze Field Square Books Oxford s downtown Square The Grove at Ole Miss The Lyceum at the University of Mississippi Rowan Oak Vaught Hemingway Stadium The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole MissLocation of Oxford MississippiOxford MississippiLocation in the United StatesCoordinates 34 21 35 N 89 31 34 W 34 35972 N 89 52611 W 34 35972 89 52611 Coordinates 34 21 35 N 89 31 34 W 34 35972 N 89 52611 W 34 35972 89 52611CountryUnited StatesStateMississippiCountyLafayetteGovernment MayorRobyn Tannehill 1 Area 2 Total26 71 sq mi 69 18 km2 Land26 62 sq mi 68 94 km2 Water0 09 sq mi 0 24 km2 Elevation505 ft 154 m Population 2020 Total25 416 Density954 88 sq mi 368 68 km2 Time zoneUTC 6 Central CST Summer DST UTC 5 CDT ZIP Code38655Area code662FIPS code28 54840GNIS feature ID0691644Websitewww wbr oxfordms wbr netA double decker tourist bus and the former Mississippi state flag contrast beside the Lafayette County Courthouse in Oxford during the 2007 Double Decker Festival Purchasing the land from a Chickasaw pioneers founded Oxford in 1837 In 1841 the Mississippi State Legislature selected it as the site of the state s first university Ole Miss Oxford is also the hometown of Nobel Prize winning novelist William Faulkner and served as the inspiration for his fictional Jefferson in Yoknapatawpha County Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar who served as a US Supreme Court Justice and Secretary of the Interior also lived and is buried in Oxford As of the 2020 US Census the population was 25 416 3 Contents 1 History 2 Geography 2 1 Climate 3 Demographics 3 1 2020 census 3 2 2010 census 4 Arts and culture 4 1 Attractions 4 2 Culture 4 3 Historic sites 5 Education 6 Media 7 Infrastructure 7 1 Health care 7 2 Transportation 8 Notable people 9 Sister city 10 References 11 External linksHistory EditOxford and Lafayette County were formed from lands ceded by the Chickasaw people in the Treaty of Pontotoc Creek in 1832 The county was organized in 1836 and in 1837 three pioneers John Martin John Chisom and John Craig purchased land from Hoka a female Chickasaw landowner as a site for the town 4 They named it Oxford intending to promote it as a center of learning in the Old Southwest 5 In 1841 the Mississippi legislature selected Oxford as the site of the state university which opened in 1848 During the American Civil War Oxford was occupied by Union Army troops under Generals Ulysses S Grant and William T Sherman in 1862 in 1864 Major General Andrew Jackson Smith burned the buildings in the town square including the county courthouse In the postwar Reconstruction era the town recovered slowly aided by federal judge Robert Andrews Hill who secured funds to build a new courthouse in 1872 During this period many African American freedmen moved from farms into town and established a neighborhood known as Freedmen Town where they built houses businesses churches and schools and exercised all the rights of citizenship 6 Even after Mississippi disenfranchised most African Americans in the 1890 Constitution of Mississippi they continued to build their lives in the face of discrimination During the Civil Rights Movement Oxford drew national attention in the Ole Miss riot of 1962 State officials including Governor Ross Barnett prevented James Meredith an African American from enrolling at the University of Mississippi even after the federal courts had ruled that he be admitted Following secret face saving negotiations with Barnett President John F Kennedy ordered 127 U S Marshals 316 deputized U S Border Patrol agents and 97 federalized Federal Bureau of Prisons officers to accompany Meredith 7 Thousands of armed volunteers flowed into the Oxford area Meredith traveled to Oxford under armed guard to register but riots by segregationists broke out in protest of his admittance That night cars were burned federal law enforcement were pelted with rocks bricks and small arms fire and university property was damaged by 3 000 rioters Two civilians were killed by gunshot wounds and the riot spread into adjacent areas of the city of Oxford 8 Order was finally restored to the campus with the early morning arrival of 3 000 nationalized Mississippi National Guard and federal troops who camped in the city 9 More than 3 000 journalists came to Oxford on September 26 2008 to cover the first presidential debate of 2008 which was held at the University of Mississippi 10 Geography EditOxford is in central Lafayette County in northern Mississippi about 75 miles 121 km south southeast of Memphis Tennessee According to the United States Census Bureau the city has a total area of 26 7 square miles 69 2 km2 of which 26 6 square miles 68 9 km2 are land and 0 1 square miles 0 2 km2 or 0 35 is water 11 The campus of the University of Mississippi west of downtown is an unincorporated area surrounded by the city The city is located in the North Central Hills region of Mississippi The region is known for its heavily forested hills made up of red clay The area is higher and greater in relief than areas to the west such as the Mississippi Delta or loess bluffs along the Delta but lower in elevation than areas in northeast Mississippi The changes in elevation can be noticed when traveling on the Highway 6 bypass since the east west highway tends to transect many of the north south ridges Downtown Oxford sits on one of these ridges and the University of Mississippi sits on another one while the main commercial corridors on either side of the city sit in valleys Oxford is located at the confluence of highways from eight directions Mississippi Highway 6 now co signed with US 278 runs west 25 miles 40 km to Batesville and east 31 miles 50 km to Pontotoc Highway 7 runs north 30 miles 48 km to Holly Springs and south 18 miles 29 km to Water Valley Highway 30 goes northeast 33 miles 53 km to New Albany Highway 334 Old Highway 6 leads southeast 19 miles 31 km to Toccopola Taylor Road leads southwest 9 miles 14 km to Taylor and Highway 314 Old Sardis Road leads northwest formerly to Sardis but now 11 miles 18 km to the Clear Creek Recreation Area on Sardis Lake The streets in the downtown area follow a grid pattern with two naming conventions Many of the north south streets are numbered from west to east beginning at the old railroad depot with numbers from four to nineteen The place of Twelfth Street however is taken by North and South Lamar Boulevard formerly North Street and South Street The east west avenues are named for the U S presidents in chronological order from north to south from Washington to Cleveland here again there are gaps there is no street for John Quincy Adams who shares a last name with John Adams Polk Avenue is replaced by University Avenue and Arthur Avenue is lacking Climate Edit Oxford has a humid subtropical climate Cfa and is in hardiness zone 7b Climate data for Oxford Mississippi University of Mississippi 1991 2020 extremes 1893 presentMonth Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YearRecord high F C 80 27 83 28 91 33 93 34 98 37 104 40 108 42 107 42 111 44 98 37 87 31 81 27 110 43 Average high F C 52 3 11 3 57 1 13 9 65 8 18 8 74 2 23 4 82 0 27 8 88 6 31 4 91 3 32 9 91 0 32 8 86 2 30 1 76 1 24 5 64 3 17 9 55 0 12 8 73 7 23 2 Daily mean F C 41 4 5 2 45 4 7 4 53 5 11 9 61 6 16 4 70 4 21 3 77 7 25 4 80 7 27 1 79 8 26 6 73 9 23 3 62 6 17 0 51 9 11 1 44 2 6 8 61 9 16 6 Average low F C 30 6 0 8 33 8 1 0 41 2 5 1 48 9 9 4 58 9 14 9 66 8 19 3 70 2 21 2 68 6 20 3 61 6 16 4 49 2 9 6 39 5 4 2 33 3 0 7 50 2 10 1 Record low F C 13 25 10 23 7 14 21 6 31 1 43 6 50 10 48 9 32 0 20 7 6 14 10 23 13 25 Average precipitation inches mm 5 13 130 5 82 148 5 61 142 6 30 160 5 35 136 5 22 133 4 35 110 3 90 99 3 99 101 4 10 104 4 30 109 6 45 164 60 52 1 537 Average snowfall inches cm 0 8 2 0 0 2 0 51 0 1 0 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 25 1 2 3 0 Average precipitation days 0 01 in 12 0 10 8 11 7 10 3 11 0 10 2 10 0 8 8 7 4 7 9 9 8 12 2 122 1Average snowy days 0 1 in 0 6 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 4Source NOAA 12 13 Demographics EditHistorical populationCensus Pop 1850492 18701 422 18801 5347 9 18901 5460 8 19001 82017 7 19102 01410 7 19202 1506 8 19302 89034 4 19403 43318 8 19503 95615 2 19605 28333 5 19708 51961 3 19809 88216 0 19909 9841 0 200011 75617 7 201018 91660 9 202025 41634 4 U S Decennial Census 14 2020 census Edit Oxford Racial Composition 15 Race Num Perc White 16 559 65 15 Black or African American 5 656 22 25 Native American 12 0 05 Asian 1 279 5 03 Pacific Islander 7 0 03 Other Mixed 861 3 39 Hispanic or Latino 1 042 4 1 As of the 2020 United States Census there were 25 416 people 10 351 households and 5 089 families residing in the city 2010 census Edit As of the census 16 of 2010 there were 18 916 people with 8 648 households residing in the city The racial makeup of the city was 72 3 White 21 8 African American 0 3 Native American 3 3 Asian 0 1 Pacific Islander and 1 1 from two or more races Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2 5 of the population The average household size was 2 09 The median income for a household in the city was 38 872 and the average household income was 64 643 The per capita income for the city was 29 195 17 About 12 of families and 32 3 of the population were below the poverty line Arts and culture Edit Oxford MS Phone Booth by City Hall Attractions Edit Rowan Oak the home of William Faulkner Square Books Lafayette County Court House In addition to the historic Lafayette County Courthouse the Square is known for an abundance of locally owned restaurants specialty boutiques and professional offices along with Oxford City Hall The J E Neilson Co located on the southeast corner of the Square is the South s oldest documented store Founded as a trading post in 1839 Neilson s continues to anchor the Oxford square Neilsons pronounced Nelsons was one of the few stores to survive the burning of Oxford during the Civil war It stands within eyesight of one of Oxford s two confederate statues one was erected after the original faced south because the South never retreats a Falkner William added a U paid for the second Neilson s also features a letter from William Faulkner who repeatedly refused to pay debts owed to the department store When the Great Depression hit Oxford and most of the banks in town closed Neilson s acted as a surrogate bank cashing paychecks for university employees and others Neilson s is also the only store in Oxford to carry supplies for Boy Scout uniforms Square Books founded in 1979 is an independent bookstore 18 A sister store Off Square Books is several doors down the street to the east It deals in used and remainder books and is the venue for a radio show called Thacker Mountain Radio with host Jim Dees that is broadcast statewide on Mississippi Public Broadcasting The show often draws comparisons to Garrison Keillor s A Prairie Home Companion for its mix of author readings and musical guests A third store Square Books Jr deals exclusively in children s books and educational toys The Lyric Theater just off the courthouse square is Oxford s largest music venue with a capacity near 1200 Originally built in the late 1800s the structure became a livery stable owned by William Faulkner s family in the early part of the 20th century During the 1920s it became Oxford s first motion picture theater the Lyric In 1949 Faulkner walked from his home in Oxford to his childhood stable for the world premiere of MGM s Intruder in the Dust adapted from one of his novels The building housed office space and a health center from the early 1980s After extensive restoration the Lyric reopened on 3 July 2008 as a live music venue It also is used occasionally for film and live drama The Gertrude Castellow Ford Center for the Performing Arts on the University of Mississippi s campus hosts a broad range of events such as symphony performances operas musicals plays comedy tours chamber music and guest lectures The Ford Center as it is commonly known also hosted the 2008 Presidential Debate between former President Barack Obama and Senator John McCain The University of Mississippi Museum is located on the University of Mississippi s main campus The Robinson collection of Greek and Roman antiquities and the Millington Barnard collection of 19th century scientific instruments are permanent collections of the museum The museum is also home to the personal collections of Kate Skipwith and Mary Buie The permanent exhibits are free to the public 19 The Burns Belfry Museum was previously the Burns Methodist Episcopal Church organized by freed African Americans in 1910 Now the museum pays tribute to its role in the Civil War era The museum houses a permanent exhibit on African American history that spans from slavery through the Civil Rights Movement 20 Culture Edit Oxford has had a diverse music scene for many years Oxford s relatively close proximity to large music cities such as Memphis New Orleans and Nashville influence its musical stylings Musicians past and present living in Oxford include Beanland The Cooters Bass Drum of Death Kudzu Kings Blue Mountain George McConnell Caroline Herring and blues harp player Adam Gussow Oxford is also the home of the music label Fat Possum Records who released records by blues legends R L Burnside and Junior Kimbrough as well as The Black Keys Johnny Marr former guitarist for The Smiths and current member of Modest Mouse bought a home in Oxford but no longer lives in it Former Derek and the Dominos member Bobby Whitlock lived in Oxford where he had a ranch and his own studio citation needed Musicians Modest Mouse Gavin Degraw Elvis Costello The Hives and Counting Crows have recorded albums at Sweet Tea Recording Studio in Oxford Dennis Herring the owner of Sweet Tea has received Grammy awards for his work with artists such as Jars of Clay and blues great Buddy Guy Bob Dylan wrote a song called Oxford Town which was included on his album The Freewheelin Bob Dylan The song was about the violent events surrounding the admission of James Meredith into the University of Mississippi in 1962 Dylan played a memorable concert at the Tad Smith Coliseum on the Ole Miss campus in November 1990 which opened with a performance of the song Oxford Town Oxford has been the setting for numerous movies including Intruder in the Dust 1949 based on the Faulkner novel Home from the Hill 1960 Barn Burning 1980 based on the Faulkner short story Rush 1981 documentary Heart of Dixie 1989 The Gun in Betty Lou s Handbag 1992 Glorious Mail 2005 Sorry We re Open 2008 documentary The Night of the Loup Garou 2009 Where I Begin 2010 and parts of The People vs Larry Flynt 1997 American journalist and novelist Joan Didion mentions Oxford in her collection of essays The White Album book 21 Historic sites Edit Ammadelle 1859 was designed by Central Park co designer Calvert Vaux See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Lafayette County Mississippi 22 and the Lyceum The Circle Historic District University of Mississippi Ammadelle Pegues House designed by Calvert Vaux Barnard Observatory Center for the Study of Southern Culture University of Mississippi 1859 Isom Place ca 1843 remodeled 1848 Lafayette County Courthouse 1872 designed by Willis Sloan and Trigg Lucius Q C Lamar House ca 1860 James Meredith Statue The Lyceum University of Mississippi 1848 designed by William Nichols Rowan Oak William Faulkner House 1848 St Peter s Episcopal Church 1860 attributed to Richard Upjohn Neo Gothic University of Mississippi Power House site of William Faulkner s composition of As I Lay Dying Ventress Hall University of Mississippi 1889 Richardson Romanesque Education Edit The Lyceum at the University of Mississippi The city is served by two public school districts Oxford School District with the majority of the area and Lafayette County School District with small outerlying sections 23 The former operates Oxford High School It is also served by three private schools Oxford University School Regents School of Oxford 24 and Magnolia Montessori Oxford is partially the home of the main campus of the University of Mississippi known as Ole Miss much of the campus is in University Mississippi an unincorporated enclave surrounded by the city 25 and of the Lafayette Yalobusha Center of Northwest Mississippi Community College The North Mississippi Japanese Supplementary School a Japanese weekend school is operated in conjunction with the University of Mississippi with classes held on campus 26 27 Media EditThe Oxford Eagle founded 1865 28 The Daily Mississippian the student newspaper of The University of Mississippi founded 1911 The Local Voice a bimonthly entertainment guide and newspaper 29 Infrastructure EditHealth care Edit The Baptist Memorial Hospital North Mississippi located in Oxford provides comprehensive health care services for Oxford and the surrounding area supported by a growing number of physicians clinics and support facilities The North Mississippi Regional Center a state licensed Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities ICF IID is located in Oxford Oxford is home to the National Center for Natural Products Research at the University of Mississippi s School of Pharmacy The Center is the only facility in the United States that is federally licensed to cultivate marijuana for scientific research and to distribute it to medical marijuana patients Transportation Edit The city operates public transportation under the name Oxford University Transit OUT with bus routes throughout the city and University of Mississippi campus 30 Ole Miss students and faculty ride free upon showing University identification Mississippi Central Railroad provides freight rail service to the Lafayette County Industrial Park in Oxford University Oxford Airport is a public use airport located two nautical miles 4 km northwest of the central business district of Oxford The airport is owned by the University of Mississippi Notable people EditSee also List of people from Oxford Mississippi Oxford native William Faulkner in 1954 William Faulkner grew up in Oxford and used it as the fictional city of Jefferson Authors include John Grisham Kiese Laymon Curtis Wilkie Ace Atkins Chris Offutt Howard Bahr Richard Ford Tom Franklin Beth Ann Fennelly Ann Fisher Wirth Wright Thompson Stark Young Larry Brown Willie Morris and Barry Hannah Artists include photorealist painter Glennray Tutor figurative painter Jere Allen and primitive artist Theora Hamblett 1895 1977 Secretary of the Interior Jacob Thompson 1810 1885 owned a manor called Home Place in Oxford that was burned during the Civil War by Union troops A historical marker stands where it once stood L Q C Lamar 1825 1893 U S senator and supreme court justice resided in Oxford where he served as professor of mathematics at the University of Mississippi farmed and practiced law He was the son in law of university chancellor Augustus Baldwin Longstreet Lamar s home in Oxford was restored as a museum in 2008 Angela McGlowan born 1970 Republican political commentator author and consulting firm CEO Naomi Sims 1948 2009 fashion model was born in Oxford New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning who played college football at Ole Miss lives in Oxford during the off season His father former Ole Miss and New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning owns a condominium in Oxford Sister city Edit Aubigny sur Nere Cher France 31 References Edit Area Elected Officials oxfordms net March 3 2016 Retrieved May 22 2022 2020 U S Gazetteer Files United States Census Bureau Retrieved July 24 2022 U S Census Bureau QuickFacts Oxford city Mississippi www census gov Retrieved September 3 2022 Jack Lamar Mayfield Oxford and Ole Miss Arcadia Publishing 2009 p 7 History www oxfordms net Retrieved September 3 2022 Archived copy Archived from the original on August 5 2008 Retrieved June 1 2008 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link U S Marshals Mark 50th Anniversary of the Integration of Ole Miss Archived from the original on May 23 2020 Retrieved April 23 2020 Doyle William An American Insurrection James Meredith and the Battle of Oxford Mississippi 1962 New York Anchor Books 2003 Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on April 2 2015 Retrieved March 22 2015 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link 2008 Presidential Debate The University of Mississippi Official Home Page Debate olemiss edu September 26 2008 Archived from the original on December 5 2008 Retrieved May 2 2017 U S Gazetteer Files 2019 Places Mississippi U S Census Bureau Geography Division Retrieved March 25 2020 NowData NOAA Online Weather Data National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Retrieved June 9 2021 Station University MS U S Climate Normals 2020 U S Monthly Climate Normals 1991 2020 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Retrieved June 9 2021 Census of Population and Housing Census gov Retrieved June 4 2016 Explore Census Data data census gov Retrieved December 8 2021 U S Census website United States Census Bureau Retrieved January 31 2008 Oxford MS Household Income Statistics CLRSearch Retrieved on 2013 08 17 dead link Interview with a bookstore Square Books in William Faulkner s hometown The Guardian October 17 2016 Retrieved June 17 2021 University Museum Museum olemiss edu Retrieved February 2 2020 Untitled Document Burns belfry com Retrieved February 2 2020 Didion Joan November 10 2009 The white album Paperback reissue ition ed ISBN 978 0374532079 Thomas S Hines 1997 William Faulkner and the Tangible Past The Architecture of Yoknapatawpha University of California Press 2020 CENSUS SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP Lafayette County MS PDF U S Census Bureau Archived PDF from the original on July 21 2022 Retrieved July 21 2022 Text list Regents School of Oxford Regents School of Oxford Retrieved April 18 2018 2020 CENSUS CENSUS BLOCK MAP University CDP MS PDF U S Census Bureau Archived PDF from the original on August 14 2022 Retrieved August 14 2022 Univ of Mississippi blue text 2020 CENSUS CENSUS BLOCK MAP Oxford city MS PDF U S Census Bureau p 1 PDF p 2 5 Archived PDF from the original on July 21 2022 Retrieved August 14 2022 Univ of Mississippi Japanese Supplementary School OGE US Japan Partnership University of Mississippi Retrieved on February 25 2015 周辺案内 North Mississippi Japanese Supplementary School at The University of Mississippi Retrieved on April 1 2015 The Oxford Eagle The Oxford Eagle The Local Voice The Local Voice is Oxford Mississippi s only locally owned newspaper featuring local food and drink specials entertainment sports and local culture The Local Voice covers Oxford Ole Miss and North Mississippi www thelocalvoice net Oxford University Transit Oxfordms net Retrieved May 2 2017 Schnugg Alyssa Sister Cities Oxford Eagle Archived from the original on March 29 2015 Retrieved December 12 2014 External links Edit Mississippi portal Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oxford Mississippi Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Oxford City of Oxford official website Oxford Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce Oxford Tourism Council Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Oxford Mississippi amp oldid 1131239244, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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