Oxly, MO

Oxly is a Ripley County CDP with a place-name history tied to railroads, timber, and postal service. The settlement was first known as Varner when the Doniphan Railroad was built in 1882; later, James Adams suggested Oxly, a shortened form honoring F. G. Oxley, whose Poplar Bluff stave factory used timber from the area. The 6,834,253-square-meter Census footprint preserves that layered railroad-and-lumber origin.