Oxford shows off its ‘picture-perfect’ history

By Jeanie Petersen

Correspondent

OXFORD - On June 6, with a full house, the Oxford Historical Society presented an “Oxford Photo History with Anna Stark.” Stark, an Oxford native and vice president of the Oxford Historical Society, displayed a sampling of photos from the hundreds in her premier post card collection. With her commentary, the picture display was like taking a nostalgic tour of Oxford Village. The vintage “picture post card tour,” spanning 150 years, was very well received by the large audience.

There were examples of Oxford’s architecture such as the St. James Hotel & Hotchkiss Inn, churches (some that are gone), private residences, the “new” bandstand, the shirt factory, D.L.& W. railroad stations, WRC Home, the River Bridge, Cole Fountain in LaFayette Park, and more, mostly photographed in the early 1900s. Stark described where the buildings were built or any changes on that site. One picture was of the Oxford post office, which is now Hoppie’s ice cream parlor!

Stark explained that she did a lot of searching to identify buildings in the pictures. Many homes have been remodeled or have gotten run down, making them appear very different than they once did. One way to recognize them was to carefully examine details like window styles and placement, foundations, roof lines, and the like. Another was to have jewelers examine the pictures with their magnifying loop to discern numbers or names. She even contacted some home owners, asking them to read their deeds for clues like previous owners’ names. After all her research, Stark was able to determine whose house is whose today. Sharing this information made her presentation truly enlightening and comments and memories from the audience enriched the program with details that brought the pictures to life.