Oxford Map
Oxford is a town in Oak Grove Township, Benton County, Indiana. The population was 1,162 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Lafayette, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Oxford was Benton County's first town. Commissioners appointed by the Indiana General Assembly selected the location in May 1843 to be the site of the county seat on land donated by Henry W. Ellsworth and David Watkinson. It was first called Milroy in honor of Samuel Milroy, one of the commissioners, but a town in Rush County already bore that name. In October 1843 the commissioners changed it to Hartford, after Hartford, Connecticut (the home of Ellsworth and Watkins), but they discovered this name was also already being used in Indiana, so in December Judge David J. McConnell awarded the town its present name.
Lots went up for sale at this time, with buyers allowed to pay for the lots in three installments over 18 months. The first building erected in Oxford was a two-story, wooden frame courthouse, designed and built by Francis Boynton, and the second was a hotel, built by Henry L. Ellsworth and operated by James L. Hatton. The first home was that of Aaron Wood, who also ran a small store that supplied groceries, beer and whiskey.
Nearby cities include Earl Park, Attica, Williamsport, Goodland, Remington.