Oxford is a town in

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Cumberland, historic county *Cumberlan ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada. It is east of

Amherst Amherst may refer to: People * Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name * Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst'' * Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...

. The town is directly serviced by Routes

104 104 may refer to: *104 (number), a natural number *AD 104, a year in the 2nd century AD * 104 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 104 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route *Hundred and Four (or Council of 104), a Carthagini ...

, 204,

301 __NOTOC__ Year 301 (Roman numerals, CCCI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Postumius and Nepotianus (or, less freque ...

, and

321 Year 321 ( CCCXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Crispus and Constantinus (or, less frequently, year 1074 ' ...

. Despite its small size and demographic, Oxford is the world's largest processor and distributor of individually quick frozen (IQF) wild blueberries.

History

Oxford was founded in 1792 by settler Richard Thompson. The name "Oxford" is derived from the shallow river that was used to enter the town. Early settlers used

oxen An ox ( : oxen, ), also known as a bullock (in BrE British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Oxford Dictionaries, "English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer spec ...

to cross, or "ford", the river, and thus derived the town's name.

Geography

Oxford is located at the junctions of three rivers, the largest of which is River Philip. Much of the town lies in a floodplain and floods are common during the springtime. Salt Lake is located between the Black River Road and the Trans Canada Highway. A series of swamps and meadows connect this lake to the River Philip.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Oxford had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Industry

Oxford is considered the wild

blueberry Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, bi ...

capital of Canada as it is centred in a large blueberry growing region. Oxford Frozen Foods Ltd., a wild blueberry processor, is the largest employer in the town, processing up to three million pounds of berries a day during peak season. The plant and over 12,000 acres of blueberry land are owned by local businessman, John Bragg, who added in 2014 another 15,700 acres in the Acadian region of northern

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. Historically, the town was home to a vibrant manufacturing industry with a woollen mill and foundry being key employers.

Transportation

Centrally located in Cumberland County, Oxford is well connected to the provincial and national road network. The

Trans Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on ...

(

Highway 104 Route 104, or Highway 104, may refer to: Brazil * BR-104 Canada * New Brunswick Route 104 * Nova Scotia Highway 104 (Trans-Canada Highway) * Prince Edward Island Route 104 * Quebec Route 104 China * China National Highway 104 Costa Rica * ...

) passed near just south of the town and provincial routes 204,

, and

all travel through town via Pugwash Road, Birchwood Road, Water Street, Upper/Lower Main Street and Little River Road. In terms of public transport, the town is serviced by

Maritime Bus Maritime Bus is a Canadian coach operator based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The company began operations on December 1, 2012, after Acadian Lines discontinued service on November 30. History Maritime Bus began operations in December ...

, which stops at the Irving gas station not far off the highway. Historically, the town had freight and passenger rail service via CN's Oxford Subdivision, known locally as the 'Short Line', which ran from Oxford Junction to

Stellarton Stellarton is a town located in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is adjacent and to the south of the larger town of New Glasgow. In pioneer times the area was called Coal Mines Station, and from 1833 until 1889, it was known as Albion Min ...

. Passenger service was discontinued in 1960 and the line was abandoned in the 1990s. The abandoned rail line has been reborn as a part of the Trans Canada Trail system. This section of the trail extends 127-km (78-mi) from Oxford to

Pictou Pictou ( ; Canadian Gaelic: ''Baile Phiogto'') is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km (6 miles) north of the larger town of New Gla ...

. It winds through farms, fields and forests for all season recreational use.

Footnotes

External links

Official Oxford website
{{Authority control Communities in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia Towns in Nova Scotia Populated places established in 1791 General Service Areas in Nova Scotia