Oxford, Texas, aka Cat Town. (original) (raw)
History in a Pecan Shell
The area was first settled in the mid-1850s and was home to the Bedford Academy, which received students from anywhere within riding distance.
A.J. Johnson laid out the town of Oxford around 1880, naming it for his hometown in Mississippi. A post office was opened that same year and the town was surveyed.
The cemetery was built in 1881 and a sign marks the date the way some businesses do:
Oxford Cemetery
"Since 1881"
The town prospered for a short time - attaining a population of around 300 by the mid-1890s. The jobs in and around Llano along with improved roads drained the population. There's nothing left of a town center today.
The Moss Family who had substantial land holdings in southern Llano County are interred here, as is the town's founder - the previously mentioned A. J. Johnson.
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Three Obelisks in the Moss family plot TE photo |
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Oxford has never been written about without mentioning its nickname of Cat Town. This name is derived from an incident where a cat was thrown into a large pot of coffee at a dance. It must be remembered that entertainment was hard to come by in the 19th century.
The cat may have cursed the town for Oxford started its decline before it even reached a high point. By the early 1900s it lost population and the post office closed in 1924.
The pages of Oxford's history from 1924 until 1968 are blank, and the only entry for 1968 was that the population had dropped to a mere 33 inhabitants. This figure stood until the late 1980s when they stopped counting.
Horses on Hwy 16 in Oxford
TE photo, 2006
"The Oatman Creek Baptist Church went into private hands in 2004 after the last service was held. The church is pretty much across the highway from the cemetery."
- William Beauchamp, June 2011 photo
"Found this little barn off a county road close by.
Many of the old log out buildings are hidden by tin now."
- William Beauchamp, June 2011 photo
"This old well was a rare sight, retired now but probably a workout for someone to fill the water trough."
- William Beauchamp, June 2011 photo
"A little cactus clings to rock on the highway near Oxford."
- William Beauchamp, June 2011 photo
Gravestone of A.J. Johnson (founder of Oxford, Texas) and Wife
Photo courtesy Dustin Martin, April 2018
Oxford, Texas Stories
The Lost Spanish Mine by Michael Barr
"For centuries the legend of the Lost Spanish Mine has lured fortune hunters into the Texas Hill Country. That legend began on a hill south of Llano....
The hill of red ochre that started it all is about five miles east of Oxford Cemetery."
Oxford, Texas Forum
"I havn't been able to research how or why this happened, but inside the Oxford cemetery there are the graves of twins: Lola and Ida Maupin. [ Being twins they ] were naturally born on the same day (November 1, 1891), but they also died on the same day (November 7, 1898). I just thought you should know. I visited the cemetery at night and it is truly a creepy place." - Will Creedle
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