Oxford

Understand

The area was first settled by Native Americans. The first English name given to the community that would later be called Oxford was Hood's Crossing, after the local Hood's Tavern. The borough was later called Oxford Crossing and Oxford Village. Oxford was located near the half-way point on the main road from Philadelphia to Baltimore. The owner of the stage between the two cities purchased Hood's Tavern and re-named it Oxford Hotel. It became the stopping point on the two-day trip between the two cities.

In 1833, Oxford was incorporated as a borough. Its first burgess (now called the mayor) was Thomas Alexander, who operated a general store in which the oldest public library in Pennsylvania was located. His store is thought to be the oldest building in Oxford.

The northern half of Oxford was owned by the Dickey family in the 19th century. The Dickeys included the local Presbyterian minister, the founder of the local bank, a state Representative, and local businessmen. Reverend John Miller Dickey and his wife Sarah Emlen Cresson founded Ashmun Institute in 1854 which later became Lincoln University. The family played a major role in re-routing the planned railroad connecting Philadelphia and Baltimore. Track was laid in the 1850s, and by the time of the Civil War, Oxford was a bustling community. The business district on Third Street was entirely re-built at this time, including the Oxford Hotel (1858) and Oxford Hall (1862). Oxford became known for its confectionery and candy businesses and was the location of many manufacturing facilities.

In the late 20th century, transportation changes resulted in Oxford being located off the main roads. A bypass was constructed for U.S. Route 1, but the major change was the construction of Interstate 95 - which shifted the bulk of the Philadelphia-Baltimore traffic away from Oxford. Nevertheless, Oxford's population has continued to grow in population with almost every census, and as of 2010, 5,077 people were counted.

Get in

By bus

SCCOOT (+1 610-993-0911) is a bus service that travels from Oxford to West Chester, Monday through Friday (except holidays). SCCOOT connects to SEPTA Route 92, SEPTA Route 104 and Krapf's "A" Bus at the West Chester Transportation Center. The fare is either one-zone ($3.50) or two-zone ($4.50) (50% discount for people with disabilities) (May 2017).

By car

Oxford is about halfway between Philadelphia and Baltimore — about 55 miles from Philadelphia, 1-1.25 hours' drive in good traffic, and about 60 miles from Baltimore and 1-1.5 hours' drive in good traffic. "In good traffic" is always a doubtful expression on the Eastern Corridor, though, so allow extra time.

You may choose to speed up your drive by using the I-95 toll road for part of your trip, but you will end up on the old Federal Highway 1 in the end. Route 1 serves the city, though it does bypass Downtown.

Get around

Once you are in Downtown, everything there is walkable for a person of ordinary fitness in tolerable weather, although the Historic District is large enough (well over a mile from north to south and east to west) that you could consider moving the car once or a few times if you would like to walk through the entire district.