Oxford Historical Society

Ion Community Awards Program

The Ion Community Awards Program offers their bank customers a vote to support community non-profits. Each on-line vote gives our group a $25 donation from Ion Bank. You are limited to one vote per person no matter how many accounts you have with the Ion Bank, but each signer on the account may vote. Check with the bank to vote without online access. Voting begins on the Ion Bank Community Awards website on February 2 and ends March 2. This is a wonderful way to support activities in your hometown – and with someone else’s money!
Vote now!

TWITCHELL-ROWLAND MUSEUM HOSTS HISTORIC LIGHTING DISPLAY: “LIGHTS IN THE WINTER NIGHTS”

Historic lighting devices that might have been used through the decades in Oxford’s 1755 Twitchell-Rowland Homestead are currently on view through April 5, 2026. Guests are invited to visit the exhibit on the first and third Sundays of each month from 2-4 pm. The museum is located at 60 Towner Lane, off Route 67 in Oxford and admission is free.Recalling the cold and darkness that the early families living in the house endured, the display features 17th – 20th century lighting devices that would have brightened their evenings and allowed the inhabitants to continue their day’s work. Titled “Lights in the Winter Nights,” the lamps, candlesticks and early lightbulbs are from the collection of Oxford Historical Society President Robert Buck, with contributions by Linda Tichy and the museum’s own collection.

Those seeking further information may call Nancy Farnum at 203 888-0230.

The Oxford Historical Society Celebrates its 50th Anniversary

The Oxford Historical Society is celebrating its 50 th birthday this year. An informal group of history buffs met prior to 1975 with Bishop von Wettberg as their president, but it wasn’t until 1975 that the present group was legally incorporated. Jane Fertig was the first president.

Inspired by the National Bicentennial of 1976, the OHS formed a committee of volunteers to research and write Early Houses of Oxford. It was published in hardcover in time for the Bicentennial and has since been reprinted in paperback format. In 2016 under the direction of Marilyn Stebar, that book was updated and expanded with the publication Historic Buildings of Oxford, Past and Present.

The Society continued to meet, sponsoring programs on local history and on crafts such as quilts and stenciling. There were social events as well including wildly popular progressive dinners during the holidays and trips to historic sites such as Wethersfield and Sleepy Hollow. Members also continued to preserve Oxford’s past, maintaining a file in the Town Clerk’s vault and taping interviews with long-time Oxford residents.

In 2004 all that changed. The 1752 Twitchell-Rowland Homestead on Christian Street was about to be demolished to make way for a new housing development. First under the direction of President Sue Kopec and later Town Historian Dorothy DeBisschop, the Historical Society raised funds to move the house in 2006 to its present location at 60 Towner Lane on property donated by Fred and Myrtle Rowland. Four years of work by over 300 volunteers culminated in 2010 when the building opened at last as the Oxford’s first museum. In 2016, the Munn Schoolhouse was also moved to the site and restored, first directed by Mrs. De Bisschop and later by Bo Duncan. That structure too became available to the public for tours in 2025.

The Oxford Historical Society continues to work to save and to generate interest in our town’s history. The museum and schoolhouse are open on the first and third Sundays of each month for tours and a collection of historic artifacts and documents is maintained. The summer of 2025 launched craft programs in the schoolhouse: “Fun at the Munn,” taught by Bo Duncan. The very popular Fiber Festival, Peach Festival and Tractor Show at the Homestead plus the annual meeting in November featuring a speaker on state or local history all serve to educate and entertain the public about our past.

We’ve come a long way!