|
|
OXFORD,
TEXAS
AKA "Cat
Town", a Texas Ghost Town
Llano County, Texas Hill Country
Hwy 16, 15 miles South of Llano
Population:
0
Book
Your Hotel Here & Save
Llano
Hotels
|
|
|
Oxford
Cemetery view
TE photo |
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.
Since there's nothing left of a town center - our photos for Oxford
feature only the cemetery.
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.
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. |
|
|
Three
Obelisks in the Moss family plot.
TE photo |
|
|
Oxford
Cemetery Tombstones
TE photo |
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.
© John Troesser
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
Anyone who would like to share their stories or photos of Oxford,
Texas - please contact
us.
Book Your Hotel Here &
Save
Llano
Hotels
More Hotels
|
|
|
