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History in
a Pecan Shell
The
area was first settled in the mid-1850s and was home to the Bedford
Academy, which received students from anywhere within riding distance.
A.J. Johnson laid out the town of Oxford around 1880, naming it for
his hometown in Mississippi. A post office was opened that same year
and the town was surveyed.
The cemetery was built in 1881 and a sign marks the date the way some
businesses do:
Oxford Cemetery
"Since 1881"
The town prospered
for a short time - attaining a population of around 300 by the mid-1890s.
The jobs in and around Llano
along with improved roads drained the population. There's nothing
left of a town center today.
The Moss Family who had substantial land holdings in southern Llano
County are interred here, as is the town's founder - the previously
mentioned A. J. Johnson. |
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Three
Obelisks in the Moss family plot
TE photo |
Oxford has never
been written about without mentioning its nickname of Cat Town.
This name is derived from an incident where a cat was thrown into
a large pot of coffee at a dance. It must be remembered that entertainment
was hard to come by in the 19th century.
The cat may have cursed the town for Oxford started its decline before
it even reached a high point. By the early 1900s it lost population
and the post office closed in 1924.
The pages of Oxford's history from 1924 until 1968 are blank, and
the only entry for 1968 was that the population had dropped to a mere
33 inhabitants. This figure stood until the late 1980s when they stopped
counting. |
Horses on Hwy
16 in Oxford
TE photo, 2006 |
"The Oatman
Creek Baptist Church went into private hands in 2004 after the last
service was held. The church is pretty much across the highway from
the cemetery."
- William
Beauchamp, June 2011 photo |
"Found this
little barn off a county road close by.
Many of the old log out buildings are hidden by tin now."
- William
Beauchamp, June 2011 photo |
"This old
well was a rare sight, retired now but probably a workout for someone
to fill the water trough."
- William
Beauchamp, June 2011 photo |
"A little
cactus clings to rock on the highway near Oxford."
- William
Beauchamp, June 2011 photo |
Gravestone of
A.J. Johnson (founder of Oxford, Texas) and Wife
Photo
courtesy Dustin
Martin, April 2018 |
Oxford, Texas
Stories
The
Lost Spanish Mine
by Michael Barr
"For centuries the legend of the Lost Spanish Mine has lured
fortune hunters into the Texas Hill Country. That legend began on
a hill south of Llano....
The hill of red ochre that started it all is about five miles east
of Oxford Cemetery." |
Oxford, Texas
Forum
"I havn't
been able to research how or why this happened, but inside the Oxford
cemetery there are the graves of twins: Lola and Ida Maupin. [ Being
twins they ] were naturally born on the same day (November 1, 1891),
but they also died on the same day (November 7, 1898). I just thought
you should know. I visited the cemetery at night and it is truly a
creepy place." - Will Creedle |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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