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Oxford, Nebraska

Village of Oxford Proves Good Things Come In Small Packages

Cruise into the small (pop. 900) Village of Oxford in south-central Nebraska, and you’re greeted by a main street broad enough to park cars in the middle as well as at the curbs. The first Oxford citizens designed a spacious community with room to expand. Clean, wide streets and sidewalks with big, shady trees welcome customers and visitors.

Twenty-two businesses comprise the business district, first laid out and built in 1880 when the Republican Valley Railway Company (later to become the Chicago, Burlington and Quincey) crossed Harlan County and into the fledgling town. The Burlington/Northern and Santa Fe railway is still an important feature of Oxford, as is the Republican River, two village parks, an 9-hole golf course and a panorama of sky.

“Almost everything we need, we can buy in Oxford,” says former Town Administrator Dennis Wolzen.

Adds local attorney Anne Paine, “As a matter of fact, last spring many Oxford residents signed a pledge that for one month they would purchase everything they needed in Oxford.”

No one complained of a hardship.

Plenty of ammenities

For a town its size, Oxford has a full complement of amenities. You can see a lot of community pride in the two parks, campground and recreation areas. The Village maintains the baseball fields, a disc golf range, a fishing pond, picnic tables, shelters, a dump station for campers, and electric hookups.

And what the town can’t offer because of its low tax base, The Village overcomes by providing a variety of public services via volunteers.

Paine says, “Oxford has a fighting spirit. We don’t give up on our town, and if we can’t afford to pay for the amenities that larger towns provide, we step up and do it ourselves.”

Volunteers manage and staff an 9-hole golf course, fire and rescue services, baseball leagues, a soccer league, the movie theatre, 4H Clubs, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, an annual Christmas Cantata, thrift store and food pantry. The Village also maintains a sparkling clean six-lane swimming pool, with the swim team staffed by volunteers.

“The list of ‘go-to’ people in Oxford is long,” says Paine.

A solid infrastructure

“The pavement, roads and bridges are all in good condition,” says a community leader, “because City employees maintain the infrastructure and they do excellent work.” He said the Village of Oxford contracts the major street work in small increments in order to hire local contractors. “We achieve more work for the dollars we spend, quality is better, and we are able to help out our own citizens.”

He adds, “Because Oxford has the capacity to produce its own electric power, the Village is never without power, and water rates are lower than most communities in the region.”

The village purchases police services from the county. Two deputies live in Oxford and patrol the village, although felonies are rare to nonexistent.

New school district is consolidated but high-tech

Although children attend elementary school in Oxford, the communities of Beaver City, Edison, Hendley, Hollinger, Orleans, Oxford, and Stamford joined together in 1993 to form a Junior-Senior High School and the Southern Valley School District. The school is located directly south of Oxford on Highway 46, and between Beaver City and Orleans on Highway 89. The modern facility is staffed by 50 certified instructors and provides high-speed Internet access district-wide, with 100 computers accessible to the high school students.

“To see kids in a consolidated school identify with their school and generate a positive team spirit and school spirit are noteworthy accomplishments,” says Brent Hollinger, Southern Valley school principal. “Southern Valley youth work hard and have fun together, and we get lots of participation in extra-curricular activities like football, volley ball, marching band, and others.

“I am proud of what Southern Valley is doing for kids,” says Hollinger. “Nearly every graduate furthers their education beyond high school with the majority enrolling in four-year universities.”

Plans for the future

At a recent community planning meeting, approximately fifty community leaders met to analyze and articulate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and tasks ahead for the Village of Oxford. Planners conclude that they want to attract small manufacturing businesses to the community with $30-$50,000 annual paychecks for employees, and expand upon tourism and outdoor sports opportunities in the region. Hunting is big business in Furnas County and brings business to Oxford.

“Hunters drive from Denver, and the same bunch of guys come up from Arkansas every fall for deer hunting,” says Wolzen. “They enjoy themselves in Oxford and are part of the town, and everybody knows them.”

To stimulate economic development in the Harlan and Furnas County region, the leaders agreed upon the formation of a Furnas-Harlan Partnership incorporating economic development projects.

Housing costs are also low in Oxford. One citizen, who moved back to Oxford from Colorado Springs notes, “A house here in Oxford may be purchased for $50,000 whereas the same house in Colorado Springs might sell for over a quarter-million dollars.”

The Village of Oxford is a great place for retirees and young families. Retirees choose Oxford because of the insignificant crime rate and a reduced cost of living in comparison to many urban areas.

Attorney Anne Paine, the mother of two young children says, “Children enjoy many freedoms in this community because everybody knows everybody, and we all watch out for each other.”

“It’s just a great place to be.”

Who to Contact

Southern Valley School District
http://teachers.esu11.org/sovalley/
Brent Hollinger
High School Principal
308.868.2222
bhollinger@esu11.org

Village of Oxford
326 Ogden Ave.
Oxford, NE 68967
(308) 824-3511

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