Oxford, Maine

Oxford, Maine
Town
Congregational Church, c. 1909
Oxford, Maine Location within the state of Maine
Coordinates: 44°07′37″N 70°29′42″W / 44.12694°N 70.49500°W / 44.12694; -70.49500
Country	United States
State	Maine
County	Oxford
Incorporated	1829
Area^[1]
• Total	41.88 sq mi (108.47 km²)
• Land	38.72 sq mi (100.28 km²)
• Water	3.16 sq mi (8.18 km²)
Population (2010)^[2]
• Total	4,110
• Estimate (2012^[3])	4,083
• Density	106.1/sq mi (41.0/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Website	www.oxfordmaine.org

Oxford is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,110 at the 2010 census. Oxford is home to the Oxford Plains Speedway, the annual Oxford County Fair, and Oxford Casino. The town includes the village of Welchville.

History

The land was part of Shepardsfield Plantation (also called Bog Brook Plantation), granted on March 8, 1777 by the Massachusetts General Court to Alexander Shepard, Jr. of Newton, Massachusetts. On March 6, 1792, the plantation was incorporated as Hebron, with Oxford its southwesterly portion. First settled in 1794, Oxford was set off and incorporated on February 27, 1829. It annexed land from Otisfield in 1830, and Paris in 1838.^[4] The town was named after Oxford, in England.^[5]

Farmers grew mostly hay, and the town became noted for cattle. Mills were established at 2 water power sites; these developed in the 19th-century into principal villages within the town, especially after the arrival of the Grand Trunk Railway in the 1850s. Welchville was located on the Little Androscoggin River, where the woolen textile mill of the Harper Manufacturing Company was established. At the outlet of Thompson Lake was Oxford village, first called Craigie's Mill for the sawmill and gristmill built by Andrew Craigie, a Boston apothecary and land speculator. This was also the site of a grisly murder that, to this day, goes unsolved. Here were erected a barrel stave mill, a shovel handle factory, and the woolen textile mills of the Robinson Manufacturing Company. The railroad brought seasonal tourists to Thompson Lake, where inns and hotels opened. Today, Oxford is a recreational area with fine architecture remaining from its prosperous mill town past. The Congregational Church, built in 1842–1843, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[6]

The town was hit by an F1 tornado on Saturday, June 5, 2010, causing some serious damage.

Covered bridge c. 1907
Oxford Spring House in 1907
Freeland Holmes Library in 1916

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 41.88 square miles (108.47 km²), of which, 38.72 square miles (100.28 km²) of it is land and 3.16 square miles (8.18 km²) is water.^[1] Oxford is drained by the Little Androscoggin River. Thompson Lake, the community's largest, is about 8 miles (13 km) long.

The town is crossed by state routes 26 and 121. It borders the towns of Paris to the north, Hebron to the northeast, Norway to the northwest, Poland to the southeast, and Otisfield to the southwest.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1800	69		—
1830	1,116		—
1840	1,254		12.4%
1850	1,233		−1.7%
1860	1,281		3.9%
1870	1,631		27.3%
1880	1,655		1.5%
1890	1,455		−12.1%
1900	1,331		−8.5%
1910	1,221		−8.3%
1920	1,097		−10.2%
1930	1,125		2.6%
1940	1,316		17.0%
1950	1,569		19.2%
1960	1,658		5.7%
1970	1,892		14.1%
1980	3,143		66.1%
1990	3,705		17.9%
2000	3,960		6.9%
2010	4,110		3.8%
Est. 2014	4,053	^[7]	−1.4%
U.S. Decennial Census^[8]

2010 census

As of the census^[2] of 2010, there were 4,110 people, 1,657 households, and 1,107 families residing in the town. The population density was 106.1 inhabitants per square mile (41.0/km²). There were 2,170 housing units at an average density of 56.0 per square mile (21.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.2% White, 0.3% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.1% of the population.

There were 1,657 households of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.2% were non-families. 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.88.

The median age in the town was 42.4 years. 21.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.4% were from 25 to 44; 32.2% were from 45 to 64; and 13.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 50.1% male and 49.9% female.

2000 census

As of the census^[9] of 2000, there were 3,960 people, 1,487 households, and 1,094 families residing in the town. The population density was 102.3 people per square mile (39.5/km²). There were 1,926 housing units at an average density of 49.8 per square mile (19.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.88% White, 0.25% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.63% of the population.

There were 1,487 households out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.8% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 19.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.5% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $36,670, and the median income for a family was $38,438. Males had a median income of $27,957 versus $20,392 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,480. About 2.8% of families and 7.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The town of Oxford is governed by an elected, five-person Board of Selectmen and an appointed town manager. The town's police department consists of one Chief of Police, one detective, three full-time patrol officers and several reserve (part-time) patrol officers.

Historical site

Oxford Historical Society & Museum

References

1 2 "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-12-16.
1 2 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-12-16.
↑ "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
↑ Coolidge, Austin J.; John B. Mansfield (1859). A History and Description of New England. Boston, Massachusetts. p. 244.
↑ Yates, Edgar A.P. (Jun 13, 1928). "Some Maine town names". The Lewiston Daily Sun. p. 4. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
↑ Varney, George J. (1886), Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Oxford, Boston: Russell
↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Retrieved June 4, 2015.
↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

Internal links

Grand Trunk Station (Oxford, ME)

External links

Municipalities and communities of Oxford County, Maine, United States

County seat: Paris

Towns	Andover Bethel Brownfield Buckfield Byron Canton Denmark Dixfield Fryeburg Gilead Greenwood Hanover Hartford Hebron Hiram Lovell Mexico Newry Norway Otisfield Oxford Paris Peru Porter Roxbury Rumford Stoneham Stow Sumner Sweden Upton Waterford West Paris Woodstock

Plantations	Lincoln Plantation Magalloway Plantation

Unorganized territories	Milton North Oxford South Oxford

CDPs	Dixfield Fryeburg Mexico Norway Oxford Rumford South Paris

Other villages	Center Lovell Dickvale Kezar Falls North Waterford Waterford Flat

Androscoggin River watershed

Tributaries	Alder River Bear River Cathance River Chickwolnepy Stream Clear Stream Concord River Cupsuptic River Dead Cambridge River Dead Diamond River Dead River (ME) Dead River (NH) Dead River (Sabattus) East Branch Cupsuptic River East Branch Dead Diamond River East Branch Nezinscot River East Branch Pleasant River East Branch Swift River Ellis River First East Branch Magalloway River Kennebago River Little Androscoggin River Little Dead Diamond River Little East Branch Cupsuptic River Little Magalloway River Little River Magalloway River Middle Branch Dead Diamond River Middle Branch Little Magalloway River Mollidgewock Brook Moose Brook Moose River Muddy River Nezinscot River Peabody River Pleasant River Rangeley River Rapid River Rattle River Sabattus River Sanborn River Second East Branch Magalloway River South Branch Little Dead Diamond River South Branch Sunday River Sunday River Swift Cambridge River Swift Diamond River Swift River Third East Branch Magalloway River Webb River West Branch Dead Diamond River West Branch Ellis River West Branch Little Dead Diamond River West Branch Little Magalloway River West Branch Magalloway River West Branch Nezinscot River West Branch Peabody River West Branch Pleasant River West Branch Swift River Wild River

Lakes	Akers Pond Androscoggin Lake Lake Auburn Aziscohos Lake Echo Lake Greenough Pond Kennebago Lake Mooselookmeguntic Lake Parker Pond Parmachenee Lake Pontook Reservoir Range Ponds Rangeley Lake Richardson Lakes Sabattus Pond Thompson Lake Tripp Pond Success Pond Umbagog Lake Webb Lake

Towns	Albany Andover Auburn Berlin Bethel Bowdoin Brunswick Buckfield Byron Cambridge Canton Carthage Chesterville Dixfield Dummer Durham Errol Fayette Gilead Gorham Greene Greenwood Hanover Hartford Hebron Jay Leeds Lewiston Lisbon Livermore Livermore Falls Mechanic Falls Mexico Minot Monmouth Mount Vernon Newry Norway Otisfield Oxford Paris Peru Pittsburg Poland Randolph Rangeley Readfield Roxbury Rumford Sabattus Shelburne Stewartstown Sumner Topsham Turner Upton Vienna Wales Wayne Weld Wentworth's Location West Paris Woodstock

Landmarks	Brown Company Maine Central Railroad Old Speck Mountain Range Ponds State Park Rumford Mill St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad White Mountains

Coordinates: 44°07′37″N 70°29′42″W / 44.12694°N 70.49500°W / 44.12694; -70.49500

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