Oxford through the years

Meaghan McAvoy

Nearly two centuries ago, the first settlers began laying the foundations of a village that would later become Oxford, Ohio.

The settlers purchased the first lots in 1810, cut down trees and began planning the layout of early Oxford. According to Curtis Ellison, Miami University professor of history and American studies, Oxford was platted with the sole intention of becoming a college town and giving the state-chartered Miami a home.

For this reason, settlers did not directly pay for the land, but instead signed a clause and promised to pay an annual rent directly to Miami.

According to Valerie Elliott, head of Smith Library of Regional History, this money helped to fund not only the original university structure, but also served to lay the groundwork for the institution that exists today.

Traveling to Oxford was not easy in the village's early years and remained this way for quite some time. Travelers arrived by horseback, and in later years, various means of coach before the Junction Railroad arrived in Oxford in 1859.

Nonetheless, Elliott said people were attracted to the village because they knew Miami's operation was looming in the future, and sure enough, classes began in 1824.

"People came who could make an income off the faculty and students," Elliott said. "And of course, some people also came for education for their children."

The first construction in Oxford was in the Mile Square, where the first university buildings could be found in addition to all early Oxford buildings, Elliott said.

"That's what the original plat of Oxford looked like," she said.

The four streets that comprise the Mile Square include Sycamore, Locust and Chestnut streets and Patterson Avenue, she said.

"Those are the (street) names today of course," Elliott said. "It was that way well into the 1900s before there were any annexations to make (the village) bigger."

Among all the new arrivals in Oxford, Elliott said that these early settlers brought their trade to the village, whether it was carpentry, blacksmithing or operating a tavern, store or hotel. Elliott said that on the old Wendy's lot, where the new Red Brick Property Management apartments are currently being built, a large three-story hotel once stood named Mansion House Hotel, which had been erected in the 1840s to support the travel in the town.

Elliott explained how in 1830, Oxford was incorporated with a population of 736 people.

"The incorporation date was just to establish government," Elliott said. "It's nice to be able to have your own police and fire protection, and to be able to pass laws and collect taxes."

This is also around the time that city council, or "village council" as it was called until 1853, came into being, Elliott said. And so Oxford's first president became Edward Foster in March 1832. Elliott said in these early days of village government, the mayor was called a "president" and city councilors "trustees."

According to Ellison, growth at Miami has always meant growth for the village. Since Oxford has always remained closely tied to the university, when the school experienced lulls in its growth, the village too was impacted.

For this reason, just as the Civil War closed the university for 12 years, events during the mid-1800s also impacted Oxford.

"It did affect the town, obviously," she said. "A lot of men and Miami students left so that affected Miami enrollment."

Ellison said that Miami's enrollment never exceeded 266 students in the Old Miami era, or the era before the university closed. However with Miami's enrollment down, the village, with a population of 1,839 people, lost only 100 individuals from 1860 to 1870.

And although Oxford's growth did slow when Miami closed from 1873 to 1885, the village has managed to steadily increase alongside the university ever since.

Even today, Mayor Prue Dana said that the city of Oxford and Miami University still remain very interrelated.

"Without the university, Oxford would hardly exist," she said.

Dana said that while the relationship has evolved, "our lives are intertwined completely."