Oxford is a town located in western New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,821 at the 2000 Census. There are several areas in Oxford: Quaker Farms, Riverside and Oxford Center. Oxford belongs to the Naugatuck Valley Economic Development Region and the Central Naugatuck Valley Planning Area.[1]
Oxford used to be a very rural town with a moderate farming population. However, a University of Connecticut development study spanning 1985-2006 showed Oxford had the largest increase of development by percentage, growing 62% during that time.[2][3] The Central Naugatuck Valley Office of the Council of Governments' spokesperson stated upon learning of the development study expressed concern that heavy development could result in flooding.[2] The town had 47 working farms as of 2007. Out of all the 269 ZIP codes in Connecticut, the one for Oxford ranked 27th largest in terms of the number of working farms.[4]
65 percent of the town are registered Republicans.[citation needed] In Connecticut, Oxford is less conservative than only Greenwich, New Canaan, Middlebury, Southbury, Wilton and Avon. In Oxford, and most other New England conservative communities, residents tend to be socially liberal and fiscally conservative[citation needed].
Recreation
Many parks serve Oxford's citizens. Among them are Southford Falls State Park in the northern section of town, Jackson Cove Beach in the southern section (Oxford residents only), and Kirks Pond in the center of town. The 10.4-mile Larkin Bridle Trail, created in the 1940s from the path of a former train track, is one of the earliest examples of the "rails-to-trails" movement.[4]
Among the more recent additions to Oxford is Oxford Greens, an upscale public golf course with over 400 homes for "Active Adults" over the age of 55. The Golf Club at Oxford Greens offer residents of Oxford and Naugatuck the opportunity to purchase an Oxford Greens Resident Card for only $55 a week.
The nearest shopping malls to Oxford are the Brass Mill Center in Waterbury (20 minutes), Westfield Shoppingtown in Trumbull (20 minutes), Connecticut Post Mall in Milford (20 minutes) and Danbury Fair Mall (25 minutes).
Education
Oxford has two elementary schools: Quaker Farms School (kindergarten through second grade) and Oxford Center School (third through fifth grade); one middle school: Great Oak Middle School (sixth through eighth grade); and Oxford High School. In 2008, 90 percent of fourth grade students met state standards in math (as compared to 85 percent statewide); 82 percent in reading (statewide: 74 percent); 95 percent in writing (statewide: 85 percent). A total of 92 percent of eighth graders in town met state math standards (statewide: 85 percent), 94 percent in reading (statewide: 81 percent); and 94 percent in writing (statewide: 84 percent).[4]
In 2007, the town spent $47 million to construct its first high school.[citation needed] Before the school was built, about half of Oxford's high school-aged population attended private schools in Oxford area, the most popular being Fairfield Preparatory, St. Joseph's School in Trumbull, Greens Farms Academy in Westport and Holy Cross High School in Waterbury.[citation needed] This exceptionally high number was a result of parents' dissatisfaction with the town not having its own high school.[citation needed] The other half were split between Seymour High School in Seymour and Masuk High School in Monroe. A small number of students from Oxford, if accepted, attend Nonnewaug High School in Woodbury or The Sound School in New Haven. The school had 570 students in 2009 and offered instruction in three foreign languages and six advanced-placement classes.[4] Oxford High is a member of the South West Conference for athletics, competing with Bethel, Brookfield, Joel Barlow (Easton/Redding), Masuk (Monroe), New Fairfield, Newtown, Pomperaug (Southbury/Middlebury), and Weston, among others.
Transportation
The town is bisected by Route 67 that begins in Woodbridge and ends in New Milford. With the influx of new citizens, Route 67 is now among the most congested state roads in Connecticut, often compared to Route 7 that runs from Norwalk to Danbury or Route 63 in Amity.[citation needed] Route 188, which runs through the Quaker Farms section of Oxford, is very scenic as it passes by Schreiber's Farm and the pristine clapboard homes near Christ Church. Other major roads in town are Route 34 along the Housatonic River (and which crosses the Housatonic into Monroe via the Stevenson Dam Bridge) and Route 42 in the eastern section of town.
Waterbury-Oxford Airport, with the second largest runway in Connecticut [5] is located in Oxford and Middlebury, CT. The airport, which is owned and operated by the Connecticut Department of Transportation has become one of the largest & fastest growing corporate aviation centers in the Northeast.[6] There are 252 aircraft based at the airport with 80 of those aircraft being large corporate business jets.[5][6]
A number of area residents make the daily commute to New York City via Metro North Railroad, southwestern Connecticut's local commuter rail service. Nearby stations are along the Waterbury line in Beacon Falls, Naugatuck, Seymour, Ansonia and Derby; or along the New Haven line in Milford, Bridgeport, Fairfield and Westport. The commute between Oxford and Manhattan takes about two hours each way.[4]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 33.4 square miles (86.5 km²), of which, 32.9 square miles (85.2 km²) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) of it (1.50%) is water.
The towns bordering Oxford are Beacon Falls, Middlebury, Monroe, Naugatuck, Newtown, Seymour and Southbury.
On the National Register of Historic Places
Local Media
Being centrally located in southwestern Connecticut, Oxford has the choice of three local newspapers: Connecticut Post of Bridgeport, Republican-American of Waterbury and The New Haven Register. Oxford residents also receive 'Voices', a free publication; it offers community news to over 20 towns in Fairfield, New Haven and Litchfield Counties. Hometown Publications has recently started a new newspaper for its residents called the 'Oxford Gazette.'
The local cable station is Comcast of Western Connecticut located in Seymour. Local media broadcasting stations are WTNH-New Haven, WVIT-Hartford, WFSB-Hartford, WABC-New York, WNBC-New York and WNYW-New York.
History
In the 18th century, farmers herded livestock through Oxford from as far away as Litchfield on the way to the port of New Haven. In the 19th century, the town lost population as farmers moved to work in better-paying factories.[4]
In 2001, Oxford made international headlines when 94 year-old Ottilie Lundgren mysteriously died of anthrax. At the time, there was a spread of anthrax attacks in New York and Washington, and this case baffled law enforcement. No additional cases in the area suggested Lundgren's death was the result of accidental cross-contamination of the mail.[7]
Demographics
As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 9,821 people, 3,503 households, and 3,798 families residing in the town. The population density was 298.6 people per square mile (115.3/km²). There were 3,420 housing units at an average density of 104.0/sq mi (40.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.69% White, 0.51% African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.35% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.83% of the population.
There were 3,343 households out of which 40.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.8% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.3% were non-families. 12.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the town the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 101.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $77,126, and the median income for a family was $80,422. Males had a median income of $52,488 versus $36,742 for females. The per capita income for the town was $28,250. About 1.6% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and 1.4% of those age 65 or over.
References
- ^ http://www.oxford-ct.gov/Section/Business_Development/Town_Profile/index.html?PHPSESSID=5cf07d9d317d048268d28da02d1590a7
- ^ a b http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/nyregion/connecticut/22landct.html?scp=1&sq=oxford,%20ct&st=cse
- ^ http://clear.uconn.edu/projects/landscape/your/town.asp?townname=108&Go=Go
- ^ a b c d e f Hughes, C.J., "How Green Is Their Valley", "Living In/" feature, November 1, 2009, Real Estate section, page 7, The New York Times, retrieved December 3, 2009
- ^ a b ConnDOT: Waterbury-Oxford Airport
- ^ a b http://www.oxcstudies.com/documents/draft_noise_study/Executive%20Summary%20(Draft%20Noise%20Study%20-%20May%202008).pdf
- ^ Bioterrorism-related anthrax surveillance, Connecticut, September-December, 2001 - Bioterrorism-Related Anthrax - Emerging Infectious Diseases http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0GVK/is_10_8/ai_93532601
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
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