About Oxford
Oxford is a village in south central Nebraska, mainly in Furnas County and extending into Harlan County. It stands near the Republican River at an elevation of about 2,113 feet and covers about 0.91 square miles. The 2020 census counted 718 residents, down from 779 in 2010 and 876 in 2000.
History
Railroad stakes were driven at the site in October 1879, and the first train crossed the Harlan County line into Oxford on 17 February 1880, met by a large crowd. The line was the Republican Valley Railroad, later part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy. The town site was dedicated on 10 June 1880 by Jacob Struve, Clara Pease and A. E. Tonzalin, and the village incorporated in June 1884. Only seven occupied dwellings stood there in 1882. The main line still runs through town but no longer carries passengers.
The name
Accounts of the name differ. One holds that it refers to oxen fording the Republican River at this point. Another attributes it to Oxford University in England, and a third credits the railroad survey crew, who may have named it for Oxford, Ohio. A 1925 survey of Nebraska place names states the town was originally called Grand View.
People
Oxford is the home town of the football player Jeff Kinney, the baseball player Ron Hansen, and Fred Gustus Johnson, a lieutenant governor of Nebraska.
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Oxford was established in 1880 with the arrival of the railroad and is unusual among Furnas County towns in that it straddles the Furnas-Harlan county line. Notable natives include pop artist Dorothy Grebenak, MLB player Ron Hansen, and University of Nebraska Cornhuskers running back Jeff Kinney.
A Republican River valley town straddling the Furnas-Harlan county line.