Oxford, ME

Oxford is an Oxford County town built around water, mills, and a racetrack. It was settled in 1794 and incorporated in 1829, then grew after the Grand Trunk Railway reached town in the 1850s. At Thompson Lake's outlet, Andrew Craig built a sawmill and gristmill, and the village later picked up woolen mills, a barrel-stave mill, and a shovel-handle factory. Oxford Plains Speedway has been running since 1950, while the Oxford County Fair and Thompson Lake keep the seasonal calendar moving. The town has several named communities, including Welchville and Oxford Station, so the name Oxford covers a broader map than the village center alone.