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Town of Oxford – The Beginnings
4
No formal act of
incorporation of Oxford has been found. Its
first mention was on May 31, 1693 when “Daniel
Allen of Oxford” was chosen representative to
the General Court. The site of the town is near
the middle of the territory known as “Nipmuck”,
“Nipmug” or Nepmug Country”. The first
movements towards a settlement in this section
was made in February 1680.
On May 11, 1681,
the General Court empowered William Stoughton
and Joseph Dudley to inspect “the matter of the
land” and inquire into the validity of the
Indian titles. Acting under the authority of the
Court, these gentlemen later purchased certain
Indian lands and the deeds of conveyance, dated
February 19, 1681 – 1682, were presented to the
Court on May 27, 1682, and by it confirmed.
History states that this grant was ratified to
Dudley & Company on January 11, 1688. The place
was named Oxford after the city of that name in
England. The plan comprehended about 65 square
miles, including besides the present Oxford, the
larger part of Charlton, about one-fourth of
Auburn, one-fifth of Dudley and several square
miles of the northeasterly portion of
Southbridge. On December 8, 1731, the farms of
Josiah and Theodore Kingsbury and adjoining land
of Isaac Larned were annexed to Oxford. When
Dudley was incorporated on February 2, 1732, a
part of Oxford was included. On November 22,
1734, on petition of the town, Dudley’s farm was
annexed to Oxford. On November 21, 1754, the
district of Charlton was established, which took
from Oxford all of the original grant lying west
of a line one mile west of the “Village line”.
On June 23, 1773, certain families were “erected
into a precinct” called the South Parish
of Worcester, and the district became the town
of Ward on April 10, 1778 (now Auburn). On
January 9, 1789, the estates of Isaac Moffit and
two others were annexed to Oxford from
Charlton. On February 18, 1793, a part of
Sutton was annexed. On February 6, 1807, the
Oxford South Gore was annexed, but was later
included in the town of Webster, incorporated
March 6, 1832. On February 13, 1809 twenty-six
acres belonging to Amasa Kingsbury were
annexed. On March 22, 1838, “the Oxford North
Gore”, comprising 738 acres, was annexed; this
lay between the north line of Oxford, as it then
existed, and the Leicester south line.
1681- William Stoughton and Joseph Dudley
empowered by the General Court to inspect the
land
1682 – Deed of conveyance granted to William
Stoughton and Joseph Dudley
1686 - 1687 – Settled by the French Huguenots
1693 – Daniel
Allen chosen as representative to the General
Court
1696 – Johnson
massacre
1708 – Captain
Rene Grignon moved to Norwich, Connecticut and
presented the Huguenot Bell to the
Town of Norwich on April 27.
1713 – Settled
by the English and Incorporated
1714 – Eight-rod
way established
1721 – First
Congregational Church established
1728 – Ebenezer
Learned born
1731 - The farms
of Josiah and Theodore Kingsbury and adjoining
land of Isaac Larned were annexed to
Oxford.
1731 – 1732 -
Dudley set off
1733 – The first
mention in the records of a school.
1734 – Manchaug
Farm annexed
1734 – Dudley
Farm annexed
1738 - The
Oxford North Gore, comprising 738 acres, was
annexed; this lay between the north line of
Oxford, as it then existed, and the Leicester
south line.
1755 – Charlton
set off
1771 – Josiah
Wolcott erected a milepost on his property
marking the spot as 53 ½ miles to Boston
1778 – Ward set
off
1785 –
Universalist Church established – The oldest
Universalist Church in the world
1789 – Moffit
Farm annexed
1789 – Colonel
Alexander DeWitt born
1793 – Kidder
land annexed
1797 – First
Masonic Lodge was formed
1801 – The first
post office was established
1807 – South
Gore land annexed
1816 – Andrew
Sigourney house built
1818 – Colonel
Alexander DeWitt house built
1821 – Clara
Barton, founder of the Red Cross, born
1829 -
George
Washington Sears “ Nessmuk” born
1829 – Dinah, a
faithful slave, died
1832 – Webster
set off
1838 – North
Gore annexed
1840 – Methodist
Church established
1840 – Norwich
and Worcester Railroad began operations with a
station at Texas Depot
1857 – St.Roch’s
Catholic Church established
1866 – Allen
Joslin house built
1869 - Elliot P.
Joslin, M.D., pioneer in diabetes research, born
1873 – Town Hall
relocated from the North Common to Oxford Center
1880 – Dr. Harry
A. Allard, a scientist and plant expert, born
1884 – Silsby
Horse Drawn Steam Engine “Huguenot 1” delivered
to the Oxford Fire Department
1884 - Huguenot
Memorial Society erects a cross and pedestal
monument dedicated to the
memory of the Huguenot settlers on 8.5 acres at
the site of the original fort
1886 – The first
cattle show in Oxford takes place
1887 – 50 post
and lanterns were set for streetlights
1888 – The
“Huguenot Steamer No.1 Company” was formed to
operate the steamer
1890’s –
Selectmen approved a Trolley line be built
through town
1896 – Memorial
tablet in memory of Colonel Alexander DeWitt
placed on the walls of Memorial Hall
1900 – Turner
Block built
1901 – Edwin A.”
Michael” Bartlett, world famous dramatic tenor,
born
1906 – Ballard
Block built
1906 –
Dedication of St. Ann’s Catholic Church
1907 – Oxford
D.A.R Chapter established
1908 – Mr.
George E. Kimball contacted Mrs. Clara A.
Fuller, Regent, D.A.R. for the purpose of
organizing a bicentennial planning committee
1911 – A
monument was erected on Camp Hill by the General
Ebenezer Learned Chapter of the Daughters
of
the American Revolution to recognize the
encampment of three regiments of Federal troops
under the command of Colonel Nathan Rice in
1799
1912 – The town
voted to observe the Two Hundredth Anniversary
in 1913
1913 –
Bicentennial Celebration
1914 – The
Oxford District Nursing Association was formed
1923 – The
Huguenot steamer was replaced by a motorized
fire engine
1928 – Webster –
Oxford Airport in South Oxford was in operation
1929
– Charles Linberg landed in Oxford,
Massachusetts to refuel
1926 – Clara
Barton fresh air camp was started
1940 - Henry
Donelin and James Mcyntire opened Henry’s Diner
(Now Carl’s)
1940 – Al
“Beartracks” Javery starts a seven season career
as a pitcher for the Boston Braves
1955 –
Greenbriar flooded from Hurricane Diane. 112
Families are relocated in 1958 - 1959
1959 –
Dedication of the Buffumville Dam
1966 – Oxford
Airport on Federal Hill opened
1972 – Carl’s
Diner opened (Formerly Henry’s)
1960 –
Dedication of the Hodges Village Dam
1977 – Route 395
through Oxford is opened
1978 – Blizzard
of ‘78
1996 – The North
Gore District 8 Schoolhouse, built in 1872 in
Merriam District, was moved to Joslin Park
2001 – Neelu and
Ishwar Sharma founded the Sarva Dev Mandir Hindu
Temple
2002 – Huguenot
Steamer returned to Oxford
2010 – Carl’s
Oxford Diner, Hodges Village Dam, The Clara
Barton Birthplace, and the Huguenot Fort are
listed on Massachusetts 1000 Great Places.
2010 – Oxford
Senior League All Stars (15 and 16 year olds)
win the state championship
2010 – Grenbriar
Reunion and dedication of commemorative sign
2010 – Stone
monument erected in North Oxford by Glen
Krevosky
2013 – Oxford’s
300th anniversary celebration
(Planned)
Gabriel Bernon (1644 – 1736)
1644 – Born in
La Rochelle, France of an ancient Huguenot
family
1673 – Married
Esther Le Roy (who
died in 1710)
1686 – Fled
France after the revocation of the Edict of
Nantes led to his religious persecution
1688 – Arrived
in Boston via Amsterdam and London with the
intention of establishing a settlement at
Oxford, Massachusetts; a plan that had evolved
through his meetings with other refugees when in
London. Bernon's financial support made the
settlement a reality for other French Huguenot
families who sailed to America with him, but he
chose to settle in Boston. He was responsible
for
the
settlement of thirty French Huguenot families
and provided for a grist, saw and wash leather
mill, and a church on Mayo’s Hill. The Oxford
settlement was abandoned in 1696 after an Indian
attack in which four of its members were killed.
Attempts were made to re-establish Oxford in
1699, but it was abandoned permanently due to
Indian threat in 1704.
1697 – Relocated
to New Port, Rhode Island
1706 – Moved to
Providence, Rhode Island
1712 – Married
to Mary Harris
1712 – Moved to
Kingston
1721 – Sold the
Oxford grant to Thomas Mayo
1736 – Died in
Providence, Rhode Island
Huguenot Fort
Late 1680’s -
Fort built
1704 - Fort
abandoned
1819 – Fort
owned by John Mayo
1881 - Huguenot
Memorial Society established and the land and
fort was deeded over to the Huguenot
Memorial Society
1881 – The land
and fort was deeded over to the Huguenot
Memorial Society
1884 - Huguenot
Memorial Society erects a cross and pedestal
monument to the memory
of
the Huguenot settlers on the site of the
original fort
1884 – 1979 –
Under the care and management of the Huguenot
Memorial Society of Oxford
1979 - Huguenot
Memorial Society of Oxford conveys eight and one
half acres of land,
including the site of the Huguenot Memorial and
the remains of the fort, situated
on
the northerly side of Fort Hill Road, to the
Town of Oxford to hold said land in
perpetuity upon the charitable trust:
The
Town shall forever retain and use the premises
as a memorial to, and to appropriately
perpetuate
the
memory of, the early Huguenot settlers of the
Town for the benefit, enjoyment and historical
enrichment of the citizens of the Town and other
members of the public; the land to be under the
care,
custody, management and control of the Town’s
Historical Commission established pursuant to
Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40, Section
8D: or act thereon.
1979 – Field
stone altar erected in the north field of the
Huguenot Fort and a Time Capsule is buried
1980 –
Dedication of the altar
1984 –
Evaluation by Boston University
1985 – Huguenot
Fort accepted by the Massachusetts State
Register of Historic Places.
1988 – Huguenot
Fort accepted by the National Park Service,
Department of the Interior, for
listing in the National Register of Historic
Places
1989 -
Archeological evaluation project completion
report published.
1989 –
Preservation restriction granted
2000 – Tour of
the fort in conjunction with Archaeological Week
2003 – Boy Scout
earns Eagle Badge for clean up work at the fort
2004 – Work
sessions conducted by Huguenot Memorial Society,
the Oxford
Historical Commission and near by residents to
improve the entrance to the land
2005 – Boy Scout
earns Eagle Badge for clean up work at the fort
2005 – Work
sessions conducted by Huguenot Memorial Society,
the Oxford
Historical Commission and near by residents to
improve the entrance to the land
2006 – Town
picnic at the Huguenot Fort
2007 – Proposal
submitted to the Massachusetts Turnpike
Authority to restore the
field stone wall fronting the site of the fort
2010 – Stone
benches and interpretive sign Installed
Ebenezer Learned (1728 – 1801)
2
1728 - Born in
Oxford, Massachusetts
1749 – Married
Jerusha Baker
1750 – Inherited
200 acres known as Prospect Hill and
built a home there
1756 – Lead his
militia company to Fort Edward at lake George
during the French and Indian War
1757 –
Contracted smallpox
1758 – 1794 –
Served as Selectman
1774 – Appointed
Colonel of the militia
1775 – Led his
Minutemen to Boston to join the Battle of
Lexington
1775 – The
Massachusetts Committee of Safety named him a
Colonel and authorized him to organize the
4th
Massachusetts Regiment. The regiment was
subsequently adopted into the Continental Army.
1775 – Given
command of Dorchester Heights by General
Washington
1776 – First to
enter Boston after evacuation by the British
1776 – Resigned
his commission due to poor health
1777 – Returned
to duty, named Brigadier General, and fought at
Saratoga
1777 – 1778 –
Commanded a brigade of Massachusetts’s troops at
Valley Forge
1778 – Resigned
his commission due to poor health
1779 –
Represented Oxford at the Massachusetts
Convention
Served as a Judge of the Common Pleas for
Worcester County, Massachusetts
1783 – Elected
as a representative to the Massachusetts General
Court
1801 - Died in
Oxford, Massachusetts
Colonel Alexander De Witt (1789 – 1879)
2
1789 – Born in
Oxford, Massachusetts
1804 - 1808 –
Clerk at Merino Manufacturing Company in Dudley,
Massachusetts
1818 – Moved to
Franklin, Massachusetts
1818 –
Manufactured cotton thread with partner Doctor
Nathaniel Miller
1818 – Named
Colonel of the 3rd Regiment of the 2nd
Brigade
1820 – Married
Mary Makepeace of Franklin, Massachusetts
1824 – With
brothers Stearns, Hollis and Archibald opened a
mill in Buffum Village, Oxford
1826 – Worthy
Master of the Third Lodge of Masons
1828 – 1830 -
Served as Selectman
1830 – 1833 –
Served as Town Moderator
1830 – 1834 -
Elected as State Representative
1832 - Served on
the School Committee
1840 – 1844 -
Served as Town Agent
1842 - Served as
Town Moderator
1842 – 1851
-Elected as State Senator
1843 – 1848 -
President of the Oxford Bank
Director of the Worcester Merchants and Farmers
Insurance Company,
Director of the State Mutual Life Assurance
Company
President of the Mechanics Savings Bank
President of the Mechanics National
Bank
President of the Worcester and Nashua Railroad
Director of the Providence and Worcester
Railroad
Director of the Norwich and Worcester Railroad
1853 – Delegate
from Oxford at the State Constitutional
Convention
1853 - 1857 –
Elected as a member of the Free Soil Party to
the U.S. House of Representatives
1857 – Purchased
the Old Huguenot Mill
1857 –
American’s Party candidate for Lieutenant
Governor of Massachusetts
1858 – Founded
the Oxford Fire Department
1865 – Purchased
the Wallis Mill
1879 – Died
Clara Barton (1821 – 1912)
1
1821 – Born in
Oxford, Massachusetts
Taught at District School No. 91839
1852 – Organized
public schools in Bordertown, New Jersey
1854 – The first
woman to work in Patent Office in Washington,
D.C.
1861 – Cared for
the wounded from the Sixth Massachusetts
Regiment and assisted in the care of the
wounded after the battle of Bull Run
1862 – 1865 –
Served in the battlefields: Cedar Mountain,
Chantilly, South Mountain, Spotsylvania,
Wilderness, Belle Plain,
Antietam, Fredericksburg, Petersburg
1864 – Assisted
Dorence Atwater in marking 13,000 graves at
Andersonville
1865 – Organized
at her own expense the search for missing men
1868 – 1869 –
Toured the U.S. and met Susan B. Anthony,
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, Julia
Ward Howe and
other women interested in the suffrage movement
1870 – Served
with the International Red Cross in the
Franco-Prussian War
1873 – Awarded
the Iron Cross by Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany
1876 – Started
the First American Red Cross Chapter in
Dansville, New York
1887 – Appointed
to represent the U.S. at the International
Conference, Karlsruhe, Germany
1881 – 1904 –
Became the first president of the American Red
Cross
1881 – Authored
the “American Amendment” which distributed
relief not only in wars, but also in famines,
floods,
earthquakes, and other disasters
1882 – 1883 –
Provided relief from the Mississippi floods
1883 – Appointed
Superintendent of the Women’s Reformatory in
Sherborn Falls, Massachusetts
1884 –
Distributed relief in the Ohio and Mississippi
River floods
1885 – Provided
relief in the Texas famine
1886 – Provided
relief in the Charleston earthquake
1888 – Provided
relief in the Florida Yellow Fever Epidemic
1889 – Assisted
with relief in Johnston, Pennsylvania
1893 –
Distribute relief in Sea Islands, South Carolina
1896 –
Supervised the Red Cross mission to the Armenian
Massacre, Turkey
1898 – 1990 –
Provided relief in the Spanish-American War
1900 – Assisted
relief in the Galveston, Texas disaster
1903 – Received
the Russian Recognition of the Order of the Red
Cross by Czar Alexander
1904 – Resigned
as President of the American National Red Cross
1905 – Became
the president of the National First Aid Society
1912 – Died at
Glen Echo, Maryland
George Washington Sears “ Nessmuk” (1821 –
1890) 1
1821 – Born in
South Oxford (now Webster)
1833 – Worked on
a commercial fishing vessel
1840 – Signed on
a three year voyage for the South Pacific
1857 – Married
and had three children
1861 – Was a
sharpshooter in the Civil War
1866 – Traveled
up the Amazon River, following the route of
Louis Agassiz
1870’s – Became
a major proponent of light weight canoeing
1880’s – J.
Henry Rushton built the Sally Gamp for
Nessmuk. Developed the “Nessmuk Knife”
Popularized “Nessmuk Garlic Cheese Bread”
1880 – 1893 –
Wrote articles for Forest and Stream
called Nessmuk’s “Adirondack Letters”
1884 – Wrote
Woodcraft
1887 – Wrote
Forest Runes
1890 – Died. A
mountain in northern Pennsylvania is named after
him. A stone marker commemorating
him is at the
entrance to the 200 Sportsmen Club
Elliot P. Joslin, M.D. (1869 – 1962
3
1869 – Born in
Oxford, Massachusetts
Attended Leicester Academy, Yale College
1891 – 1895 –
Attended Harvard University
Won
the Boylston Society prize for work later
published as the book The Pathology of
Diabetes
Mellitus.
Conducted Postgraduate work at
Massachusetts General Hospital
First doctor in the United States to
specialize in diabetes and was the founder of
today’s
Joslin diabetes Center. He was the
first to advocate for teaching patients to care
for their own
diabetes, an approach now commonly
referred to as “DSME” or Diabetes
Self-Management
Education. He is also a recognized
pioneer in glucose management, identifying that
tight glucose
control leads to fewer and less extreme
complications.
1898 – Started private medical practice in
Boston’s Back Bay
1908 – In conjunction with physiologist Francis
G. Benedict, carried out extensive metabolic
balance
studies examining fasting and feeding in
patients with varying severities of diabetes
1910 – Built summer vacation home on Buffalo
Hill
1916 – Published monograph The Treatment of
Diabetes Mellitus.
1918 – Published
Diabetic Manual — for the Doctor and Patient
1922 - Insulin became available as therapy, and
Joslin’s corps of nurses became the forerunners
of
certified diabetes educators,
providing instruction in diet, exercise, foot
care and insulin dosing,
and established camps for children
with diabetes throughout New England.
1940 - The first hospital blood glucose
monitoring system for pre-meal testing was
developed under his
direction ,and was the forerunner of modern
home-monitoring systems.
1946 - 1966 - Challenged the government to do a
study in the town of his birthplace, Oxford,
later confirm
Massachusetts. The study
was started in 1946 and carried out over the
next 20 years. The
results would Joslin’s
fear that the incidence of diabetes in the
United States was
approaching
epidemic proportions
1952 -
Joslin’s group practice became officially known
as the
Joslin Clinic.
1956 -
The
office was moved to its current location at One
Joslin Place in Boston
1962 – Died
in his
sleep on 29 January 1962 in
Brookline, Massachusetts.
Edited by Peter
J. Smith for the Oxford Historical Commission.
Please submit corrections or additions to
pjsmithross@aol.com
1.
Webster, Dudley, and Oxford During the
Nineteenth Century by Paul J. Macek and James R.
Morrison
2.
History of the Town of Oxford
Massachusetts by George F. Daniels
3.
Wikipedia
4.
May White & Daniels |
History of Oxford MA
