Oxford Historic District

The story

Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com

The Oxford Historic District is a historic district in Oxford Borough, Chester County, roughly bounded by Church Road, Chase Street and Hodgson Street. Listed in the National Register in 2007, its 517 contributing buildings were built mainly from 1833 to 1939 in styles ranging from Federal and Italianate to Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Bungalow.

Why it's listed

It was listed under criterion C, with local significance in architecture. The nomination gives its period of significance as 1833 to 1939, matching construction that ran from 1833 to 1939 across the district.

Physical character

Hood's Tavern was demolished and rebuilt as the Oxford Hotel in 1858, and a train station was built in 1901; many buildings had their first floor exteriors remodeled between 1910 and 1935, and the Presbyterian Church burned and was rebuilt in 1989. Walls are brick, stone and wood on stone foundations, with roofs of slate, asphalt and shingles and ironwork elsewhere. Distinctive details include a Palladian window, a gambrel roof and patterned slate roof shingles.

Historical context

Oxford was incorporated as a borough in 1833, and railroad tracks reached the center of town in 1860, followed by the Peach Bottom Railroad's line west from Oxford in 1876. The Oxford Caramel Company closed in 1933, and passenger rail service ended in 1948. The nomination names Milton Walker as a builder.