Oxford, Mississippi
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| Oxford, Mississippi | |
 |
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| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Lafayette |
| Area | |
| - Total | 10.0 sq mi (25.8 km²) |
| - Land | 10.0 sq mi (25.8 km²) |
| - Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²) |
| Elevation | 505 ft (154 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 11,756 |
| - Density | 1,179.1/sq mi (455.3/km²) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| - Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 38655 |
| Area code(s) | 662 |
| FIPS code | 28-54840 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0691644 |
Oxford is a city and the county seat[1] of Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1835, it was named after the British university city in hopes of having the state university located there, which it did successfully attract.
The population is about 19,000, due to the city's recent annexation of five square miles of Lafayette County in all directions.[2] Oxford is the home of the University of Mississippi, founded in 1848, also known as "Ole Miss".
Oxford has been named by USA Today as one of the top six college towns in the nation. It is included in The Best 100 Small Towns in America. Lafayette County consistently leads the state rankings in the lowest unemployment rate per quarter. Both Oxford city and Lafayette County school systems are consistently ranked as "5-star" systems; the highest rating available.
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[edit] History
Oxford became a center of culture as it was the location of the University of Mississippi, founded in 1848 as the first rank college of the state. The university was segregated until 1962.
In a pattern typical of many areas, after the Civil War numerous freedmen moved from farms into town to establish their own community. They called their neighborhood "Freedmen Town". They built houses, businesses, churches and schools, eagerly embracing education. They exercised all the rights of citizenship.[3] Even after Mississippi disfranchised most African Americans and poor whites with provisions of its new constitution in 1890, they proceeded to build their lives in the face of discrimination.
During the Civil Rights Movement, Oxford gained national attention as the governor attempted to prevent James Meredith from integrating the University of Mississippi after he won a federal court case for admittance. Riots broke out in protest of his admittance. Late on the evening of Sunday, September 30, 1962, in which two men, a French journalist sent to cover the events and a Lafayette County resident, were killed by stray bullets. During the riots by whites, cars were burned, and university property was damaged. President John F. Kennedy ordered United States Marshals to protect Meredith. Order was restored to the campus with the early morning arrival of the U. S. Army. President John F. Kennedy had mobilized the Army and ordered them onto the campus and surrounding community early on the evening of the riot, but poor communication delayed their arrival in force until the following morning (Monday, October 1). Meredith enrolled that morning without incident and attended for the rest of the school year, graduating in August 1963 with a degree in history.
[edit] Geography
Oxford is located at (34.359837, -89.526242).[4]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.0 square miles (25.8 km²), of which, 10.0 square miles (25.8 km²) of it is land and 0.10% is water.
The land is hilly in places but is generally level. To the southwest is the Mississippi Delta. It is within one hundred miles of Memphis, Tennessee.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 11,756 people, 5,327 households, and 2,109 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,179.1 people per square mile (455.3/km²). There were 6,137 housing units at an average density of 615.5/sq mi (237.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.01% White, 20.95% African American, 0.12% Native American, 2.68% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population.
There were 5,327 households out of which 17.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.9% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 60.4% were non-families. 37.9% 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 2.05 and the average family size was 2.78.
In the city the population was spread out with 14.9% under the age of 18, 31.6% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 13.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $20,526, and the median income for a family was $45,700. Males had a median income of $33,750 versus $22,284 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,672. About 11.6% of families and 31.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.7% of those under age 18 and 14.8% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Education
The City of Oxford is served by the Oxford School District. It is the home of the University of Mississippi, known as "Ole Miss".
[edit] Health care
Oxford is home to the National Center for Natural Products Research at the University of Mississippi's School of Pharmacy. The Center is the only facility in the United States that is federally licensed to cultivate marijuana for scientific research. The plants grown at this facility are used for research purposes and a small amount are prescribed to the dozen or so patients in the U.S. who are allowed medicinal marijuana for medical purposes.
[edit] Notable Citizens
- William Faulkner adopted Oxford as his hometown after growing up there when his family moved to Oxford from nearby New Albany when he was three. Oxford is the model for the city "Jefferson" in his fiction, and Lafayette County, Mississippi was a model for his fictional Yoknapatawpha County. His former home, Rowan Oak, now owned by the University of Mississippi and recently remodeled, is a favorite tourist attraction in Oxford. Several members of Faulkner's family still live in the Oxford and Lafayette County area.
- John Grisham also has a home in Oxford. He received a J.D. from the University of Mississippi in 1981 and practiced law in the Southaven, Mississippi area for ten years before retiring from practicing law. He and his family relocated to Oxford as his writing career took off in the early 1990s.
- Authors Barry Hannah, Curtis Wilkie, Jane Ann Mullen, and Tom Franklin are among the many authors who live in Oxford. Deceased authors Larry Brown and Willie Morris, also editor of Harper's Magazine, lived in Oxford as adults after years away from Mississippi. Richard Ford lived in Oxford for an extended period. He now lives in Maine.
- Oxford has been called the art center of the South. Famous artists calling it home include Glennray Tutor, who specializes in photorealism and has had his artwork exhibited internationally; Jere Allen, widely regarded as one of the best portrait painters in the world; Paula Temple, an expressionistic painter with a surreal twist; and sculptor William Beckwith. Nationally known primitive artist Theora Hamblett (deceased) lived in Oxford.
- Actress Joey Lauren Adams, who appeared in such films as Mallrats and Chasing Amy, resides in Oxford.
- CBS News Correspondent, Sharyn Alfonsi who covered the wars in Iraq and Israel, attended school in Oxford. She was an Ole Miss Beauty and Faulkner scholar.
- Interior Secretary Jacob Thompson owned a manor called "Home Place" in Oxford that was burned down in 1864 during the Civil War by Union troops. A historical marker stands on the spot where it once stood. Many other houses in the general area and within the city limits date from before and just after the Civil War era.
- Indie rock group Colour Revolt is from Oxford.
Oxford has been the setting for numerous movies, including Intruder in the Dust (1949, based on the Faulkner novel), Heart of Dixie (1989), The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag (1992), and parts of The People vs. Larry Flynt (1997).
[edit] Attractions
- The town square, called "The Square", is the geographic and cultural center of the city. Some restaurants on the square include The BottleTree Bakery, The Blind Pig Pub,The Longshot, Proud Larry's, Jubilee, Ajax, Boure', The Rib Cage, Pearl Street Pasta, Waltz on the Square, Parrish Baker Pub, City Grocery, and Downtown Grill and The Blue Pan Grille. The Square is filled with many other restaurants, clothing stores, specialty stores, and professional offices.
- The J. E. Neilson Co. located on the southeast corner of the square is the South's oldest documented store. Founded as a trading post in 1839, Neilson's continues to anchor the Oxford square. When the Great Depression hit Oxford and most of the banks in town closed, Neilson's acted as a surrogate bank for university employees, who needed to cash their checks to pay living expenses.
- Square Books, a local bookstore founded in 1979, is consistently ranked among the best independent bookstores in the country. The store's owner, Richard Howorth, is currently in his second term as mayor of Oxford. A sister store, Off Square Books, which is several doors down the street to the east, deals in used and remainder books and is the venue for a radio show called Thacker Mountain Radio that is broadcast state-wide on Mississippi Public Broadcasting. The show often draws comparisons to Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion for its mix of author readings and musical guests. A third store, Square Books Jr., deals exclusively in children's books and educational toys.
- Amadelle, an antebellum Italianate house located on North Lamar, is a National Historic Landmark and was designed by Calvert Vaux, the famed co-architect of Central Park in New York.
[edit] Cultural
- Oxford has had a thriving and diverse music scene for many years, often drawing comparisons to other college towns with active musical life, such as Chapel Hill, North Carolina, or Athens, Georgia. Oxford's relatively close proximity to large music cities such as Memphis, New Orleans, and Nashville, make it a regular stop for most of the current musicians and bands who tour on a regular basis. Artists like Garrison Starr and bands such as The Hilltops, Blue Mountain, The Neckbones, The Cooters, Kudzu Kings, Beanland, and members of Widespread Panic have all called Oxford home. Oxford is also the home of the renegade blues label Fat Possum Records, who released records by blues legends R. L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough, as well as The Black Keys. Johnny Marr, former guitarist for The Smiths and current member of Modest Mouse bought a home in Oxford but no longer lives in it. Former Derek and the Dominos member Bobby Whitlock lived in Oxford where he had a ranch and his own studio.
- Honest Tune Music Magazine is based in Oxford.
- Musicians Modest Mouse, Gavin Degraw, Elvis Costello, The Hives, and Counting Crows have recorded albums at Sweet Tea Recording Studio in Oxford. Dennis Herring, the owner of Sweet Tea, has received a Grammy award for his work with blues great Buddy Guy.
- Bob Dylan wrote a song called "Oxford Town," which was included on his album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. The song was about the violent events surrounding the admission of James Meredith into the University of Mississippi in 1961. Dylan played a memorable concert at the Tad Smith Coliseum on the Ole Miss campus in November 1990, which included a performance of the song Oxford Town.
[edit] 2008 Presidential Debate
Over 3000 journalists will come to Oxford September 26, 2008 to cover the first presidential debate of 2008 being held at the University of Mississippi.[6]
[edit] Historical sites
[edit] References
- ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Oxford, Mississippi, City's Official Website, accessed 30 May 2008
- ^ Freedmen Town, Lafayette County, History Markers of Mississippi, accessed 30 May 2008,
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ 2008 Presidential Debate | The University of Mississippi - Official Home Page
[edit] External links
- Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce
- City of Oxford Official Website
- Oxford Civic Chorus Web Site
- Oxford Tourism Council
- The University of Mississippi
- Yoknapatawpha Arts Council
- Oxford Conference Center
- Oxford travel guide from Wikitravel
- Oxford, Mississippi is at coordinates Coordinates:
[edit] Area newspapers
- The Oxford Eagle
- The Local Voice, The Local Newspaper for the Community, by the Community
- The Daily Mississippian, the student newspaper of The University of Mississippi.
- Go Oxford, Community website covering Oxford Mississippi
- Oxford Mississippi.com, Local alt publication featuring local writers
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