A Brief History of Oxford Township

Prior to the 1920s, what is now Oxford Township was known to be a hunting ground of the Nepessing Tribe of the Chippewa Indians, who inhabited large areas of Oakland , Lapeer and St. Clair counties. Between 1810 and the early 1820s, numerous settlers visited the Oxford area, primarily to hunt and trap. The first documented sale of public land in this area was recorded in 1823 to Elbridge Deming, who later built a log cabin on land in Section 9 (in the area of M-24 and Metamora Road ) of the township, around the spring of 1832.
Oxford Township was not officially created until after Michigan became a state in 1836. Originally part of Oakland Township , as were Addison and Orion Townships , Oxford Township , was split away and separately organized in 1837.
The 1830s saw an influx of settlers to the area, originally known as Demingsburgh, Demings Corners and Oxford Corners, before official designation by Washington as Oxford . in 1836. The family names of many early settlers to the area are evident today in names of streets and buildings, such as Powell, Hovey, Burdick and Axford.
New residents continued the trek to Oxford Township , many settling in sections 22 and 27 of what was to become the Village of Oxford in 1876. Along with residents came commerce and industry. A downtown area was built in the village, however, much of the area south of Burdick and west of Washington Street burned to the ground in 1878. When rebuilt, most of the buildings were of brick and masonry construction and are still in use today. The 1850s, 60s and 70s found Oxford a prospering commercial center, with such businesses as Oxford Carriage Factory, Oxford Machine Works, Oxford Valley Mills, Oxford Brewery and several furniture and cabinetry shops.
In additon to the Village of Oxford , two other smaller communities developed in other areas of the township. Near Baldwin and Oakwood Roads, on the boundary with Brandon Township , the community of Oakwood reached a population of nearly 200 people by 1876 with a foundry and "the usual shops and stores".
As the need existed for a railroad station and facilities near the northern edge of the township. Thomas had a store, hotel, grain elevator and gristmill by the late 1870s. These two areas of Oxford Township continued to prosper until May 1896, when they were largely devastated by a monster tornado which traveled across the entire north end of Oakland County . The tornado killed 41 people and injured 46 others in northern Oakland and southern Lapeer counties. Seventeen of the fatalities were in the northern portion of Oxford Township , from the Oakwood village area to Thomas. While many of the homes in Oakwood and Thomas were rebuilt, the two communities were never again centers of commerce. Railroads were largely responsible for change and continued growth in the Oxford area. no longer isolated from Detroit and now joined with communities to the north, and now joined with Oxford 's commerce thrived. In addition to its businesses and factories, agriculture was a large mainstay for the community. At one time in the in 1880s, Oxford earned the nickname, Bagatown, from the large number of rutabaga shipped out by train.
The early 1880s saw a second railroad constructed from the Pontiac area, through Oxford to Port Austin. Known as the Pontiac , Oxford and Port Austin Railroad, or P.O. and P.A. it later became the Pontiac , Oxford and Northern, P.O. and N., and finally the Grand Truck Western Railroad. With the expansion of the second rail line through town, it now became possible to travel to the tip of Michigan 's thumb in one day. By 1900, a third, all electric powered passenger rail line known as the Detroit United Railroad (D.U.R.) was extended through Oxford from Detroit to Flint . Noted for maintaining limited cars daily, both north and southbound. Over the years, the D.U.R. was involved in many collisions with automobiles, often resulting in death or injury to those whose automobiles tangled with the interurban cars at grade crossings. As automobile transportation became more reliable and roads improved, a growing percentage of the populace chose to travel by these means, forcing the demise of the D.U.R. in 1931.
One of the most recognizable voices throughout the nation was that of Brace Beemer the radio Lone Ranger. Beemer lived in Oxford for many years. There is a street named for him in the southwest part of the township, where he lived. His collection of Lone Ranger items is on display in the Northeast Oakland Historical Museum in Oxford.Gravel, an abundant natural resource found throughout northeast Oakland County , played a major role in change and development of the Oxford area. Beginning in 1912 with establishment of a gravel mine by W.O. Smith, eventually five individual gravel mining companies were operating in Oxford by the mid 1920s. American Aggregates Corporation, became the most successful of the mining firms, when it acquired mining rights to vast tracts of land in 1982. Oxford became known and was until recent years was promoted as the The Gravel Capital of the World.

Oxford Village

Although it is on the fringe of the Detroit metropolitan area, Oxford emanates a small-town feeling. Residents often mingle in the town's numerous public and commercial establishments (e.g., the Oxford Leader Newspaper, Oxford 7 Theater, Oxford Public Library, Starbucks, and local restaurants such as Red Knapp's, Frosty Boy, and Casa Real).

The village center consists of shops stretching for two blocks, with some highlights being the Oxford 7 Movie Theater, Red Knapp's American Grill and the North Oakland Historical Museum (open 1-4 PM on Saturdays), which showcases some of the region's history. The area's public high school, Oxford High School , was newly expanded in 2003-2004 and now holds the title of the largest single-floor high school in the Midwest .

There were 1,402 households out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the village the population was spread out with 28.2% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 34.4% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.7 males.

Crime

Oxford has a lower crime rate than the national average, with a crime index of 110.5 (2004) compared to a nationwide average of 327.2.The number of violent crimes recorded by the FBI in 2003 was 5. The number of murders and homicides was 0. The violent crime rate was 1.4 per 1,000 people.

History

During the early 1800s the northeast Oakland county area was largely avoided by the early settlers because it was believed to be nothing but impenetrable swamp land. The area was, at that time, nicknamed " The Barren Plains of Oxford ." It was called this primarily because of a report, which was made in 1812 by the U.S. Surveyor General that described the area as a poor, barren, sandy land, on which scarcely any vegetation could grow with the exception of some very small scrubby oaks, It was concluded in the surveyors' report that there was one acre out of one hundred that appeared to be eligible for cultivation. Any hope for crop production was thought to be preposterous. At this point, the area was deemed worthless and discouragement of any hope for development by forthcoming settlers was inevitable.

Purchase of public land in what is now called Oxford was in 1823 by a man named Elbridge G. Deming. soon after, the first person to settle in Oxford was a wolf trapper named Avery Brown. He made use of the land and gave some credibility to its value. It wasn't long after that the first area post office was officially established in, what was then known as Demingsburgh on May 2,1834. Five years later, the name was officially changed to Oxford on January 15,1839. Elbridge D. Deming was the first postmaster for Oxford as the post office was located in his log home near the intersection of M24 and Metamora Rd. At that time, the mail was brought from Rochester once a week by a man named Mr. Hubbard who walked the distance to insure, what was at that time, considered as prompt delivery of the mail. A few years later the delivery time was drastically cut by another man named Mr. Rose. The route was given to him as he would use his horse and cart instead of walking like his predecessor thus expediting the delivery time tenfold.

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