Oxford, Mississippi

Oxford, Mississippi
From top, left to right: Swayze Field, Square Books, Oxford's downtown Square, The Grove at Ole Miss, The Lyceum at the University of Mississippi, Rowan Oak, Vaught–Hemingway Stadium, The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss
Flag of Oxford, Mississippi
Official logo of Oxford, Mississippi
Location of Oxford, Mississippi
Location of Oxford, Mississippi
Oxford, Mississippi is located in the United States
Oxford, Mississippi
Oxford, Mississippi
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 34°22′0″N 89°31′7″W / 34.36667°N 89.51861°W / 34.36667; -89.51861
CountryUnited States
StateMississippi
CountyLafayette
Named forOxford, England
Government
 • MayorRobyn Tannehill[1]
Area
 • Total26.71 sq mi (69.18 km2)
 • Land26.62 sq mi (68.94 km2)
 • Water0.09 sq mi (0.24 km2)
Elevation
505 ft (154 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total25,416
 • Density954.88/sq mi (368.68/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Code
38655
Area code662
FIPS code28-54840
GNIS feature ID0691644
Websiteoxfordms.net
A double-decker tourist bus and the former Mississippi state flag contrast beside the Lafayette County Courthouse in Oxford, during the 2007 Double Decker Festival.

Oxford is the 14th most populous city in Mississippi, United States, and the county seat of Lafayette County, 75 miles (121 km) southeast of Memphis. A college town, Oxford surrounds the University of Mississippi or "Ole Miss". Founded in 1837, the city is named for Oxford, England.

Purchasing the land from a Chickasaw, pioneers founded Oxford in 1837. In 1841, the Mississippi State Legislature selected it as the site of the state's first university, Ole Miss. Oxford is also the hometown of Nobel Prize-winning novelist William Faulkner, and served as the inspiration for his fictional Jefferson in Yoknapatawpha County. Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, who served as a US Supreme Court Justice and Secretary of the Interior, also lived and is buried in Oxford.

At the 2020 US Census, the population was 25,416.[3]

  1. ^ "Area Elected Officials". oxfordms.net. March 3, 2016. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  2. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  3. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Oxford city, Mississippi". www.census.gov. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2022.