Oxford, Pennsylvania
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Oxford is a
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...
in
Chester County Chester County may refer to: * Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States ** Chester County Council, boy scout council in Pennsylvania. * Chester County, South Carolina, United States * Chester County, Tennessee, United States * Cheshire ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, United States. Oxford is the closest town to Lincoln University. The population was 5,733 at the 2020 census.


History

The borough was once called Oxford Crossing and Oxford Village during the 1700s. In 1805, the Oxford post office was established. In 1833, Oxford was officially incorporated as a borough. Its first burgess (now called the mayor) was Thomas Alexander, who operated a general store thought to be the oldest building in Oxford. The northern half of Oxford was owned by the Dickey family in the 19th century. The Dickeys included the local Presbyterian minister, the Mr O'Malley of the local bank, a state Representative, and local businessmen. Reverend John Miller Dickey and his wife Sarah Emlen Cresson founded Ashmun Institute in 1854, and which later became Lincoln University. The family played a major role in re-routing the new Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad (P&BC) through Oxford. Track was laid in the 1850s. The railroad reached Oxford in 1860 and later connected to Philadelphia and Baltimore.Garrett, Jerre
"The Baltimore Central Railroad Reaches Rising Sun."
Accessed 2011-09-14.
By the time of the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, Oxford was a bustling community. The business district on Third Street was entirely re-built at this time, including the Oxford Hotel (1858) and Oxford Hall (1862). Oxford became known for its confectionery and candy businesses and was the location of many manufacturing facilities. A second railroad, the Peach Bottom Railway, was built in the 1870s from Oxford to Peach Bottom. It carried farm products and passengers but was not profitable. It struggled through three bankruptcies and reorganized as the Lancaster, Oxford and Southern Railway, finally closing permanently in 1918. The
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...
took control of the P&BC on the eve of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
Passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...
service on the line ended in 1935. In the late 20th century, transportation changes resulted in Oxford being located off the main roads. A bypass was constructed for U.S. Route 1 in the late 1960s, but the major change was the 1963 opening of
Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
, which shifted the bulk of the Philadelphia-Baltimore traffic away from Oxford. The former Pennsylvania Railroad Station is now the borough hall. The Oxford Historic District and Oxford Hotel were listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 2008.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the borough has a total area of , all land. The population per square mile is 2,581.1.


Demographics

At the 2010 census, the borough was 59.9% non-Hispanic White, 9.0% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 4.0% were two or more races. 28.8% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry. 693 people in the borough were foreign born. As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 4,315 people, 1,703 households, and 1,047 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 1,825 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 77.75%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 11.87%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.09% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.23%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 7.39% from other races, and 2.04% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 16.15% of the population. There were 1,703 households, out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.8% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.5% were non-families. 33.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.15. In the borough the population was spread out, with 25.6% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 19.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.5 years. For every 100 females there were 85.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.0 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $49,896, and the median income for a family was $41,172. Males had a median income of $35,398 versus $23,015 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the borough was $21,924. About 22.6% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over. As of 2012, there was a total of 264 business firms located in the borough.


Points of interest

The Oxford Town Clock, on the BB&T bank on South Third Street, was restored in May 2001. The Fire House located right off of Market Street was originally the Dickey Building, but was renovated and named the Union Fire Company No. 1. They are still in this location today. The Oxford Presbyterian Church, one of the oldest buildings in town, was destroyed by fire in 1989 after the steeple (which it was known for and can be seen for miles) was struck by lightning. It has been rebuilt and is still in use today. Oxford has built a four-story parking garage in the middle of the borough. The borough office will also be moved to the first floor of the garage. The borough intends to bring in more people into the town with this new addition.


Education

The local public school district is the Oxford Area School District. There are six schools associated with the district: Jordan Bank Elementary (K), Elk Ridge Elementary (1-2), Nottingham Elementary (3-4), Hopewell Elementary (5-6), Penn's Grove Middle School (7-8), and Oxford Area High School (9-12). Penn's Grove Middle was the original location of the High School, but became Penn's Grove after the new High School building was completed in November 2005, (the new place is located down Waterway Road). Sacred Heart School is also located in Oxford, which was built in 2002, and is run by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Oxford is a part of the American Division in the Ches-Mont League for high school sports. Sports included are football, basketball, baseball, soccer, field hockey, swimming, lacrosse, wrestling, tennis, and golf. Oxford is the closest town to Lincoln University, a
historically black college Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...
that was founded in 1854. People such as
Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harl ...
and
Thurgood Marshall Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme C ...
were students at Lincoln University.


Transportation

As of 2020, there were of public roads in Oxford, of which were maintained by
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, Michael B. Carroll. PennDOT ...
(PennDOT) and were maintained by the borough. U.S. Route 1 is the main highway serving Oxford. It follows the Kennett-Oxford Bypass along a southwest-to-northeast alignment across the northwestern edge of the borough. Pennsylvania Route 472 mostly follows Lancaster Avenue and Market Street on an east–west alignment through the center of town, while Pennsylvania Route 10 begins at PA 472 in the center of town and follows Third Street north.


Notable people

* William T. Fulton (1835–1912), lawyer and a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives * John H. Ware III (1908–1997), burgess of Oxford and U.S. House Representative from Pennsylvania


References


External links


Borough of Oxford official website
{{authority control Populated places established in 1775 Boroughs in Chester County, Pennsylvania 1833 establishments in Pennsylvania