Oxford, Iowa
12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Oxford Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52322. It stands on Rhine Creek. The Survey maps it on the Oxford quadrangle. 722 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 751 feet above sea level.
On record in Oxford
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 1 record
Oxford Commercial Historic Districtlisted 1997
Population over time
2 figuresOxford fell from 807 to 722 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 807 | |
| 2020 | 722 | -85 (-11%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 12 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1891 USGS Oxford quadrangle1:62500
- 1894 USGS Oxford quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1903 USGS Fairfax quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Davenport quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1961 USGS Davenport quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Davenport quadrangle1:250000
- 1973 USGS Oxford quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Iowa City quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
22 since 2007Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 22 fires within 5 miles of Oxford between 2007 and 2020, burning about 154 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 12 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 August 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 13 July 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 10 July 2012 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 6 June 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 4 April 2015 | Debris and open burning | 15 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 30 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 40 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 26 April 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 16 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Oxford: 2 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rohret Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
17 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Oxford in 17 storm reports between 1997 and 2020: 6 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 3 funnel cloud, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oxford | $70,000 | no account filed |
| April 2001 | Tornado (F0) | Oxford | $25,000 | An F0 tornado moved across rural areas south of Oxford, and destroyed a barn and a garage at two farms. There were no injuries. |
| April 2006 | Hail | Oxford | $10,000 | golfball size hail |
| July 2007 | Lightning | Oxford | $5,000 | Lightning struck a home on Iwv Rd SW south of Oxford, IA around 2 AM causing a fire. The homeowner was able to extinguish most of the fire. Minor fire and smoke damage was reported. Time estimated. |
| May 1997 | Hail | Oxford | $1,000 | Hail broke several windshields. |
| June 1998 | Hail | Oxford | $200 | Windshields were broken by golf ball size hail. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oxford | - | Widespread straight-line winds that produced extensive damage were reported throughout Iowa County, associated with a derecho. These winds lasted around an hour in total at any one location, even though the initial line of storms moved out quickly. Damaging straight-line winds continued and were associated with the rear inflow jet. Maximum wind speeds were estimated to be 60 to 80 MPH for much of the county, with areas in northern Johnson County that had wind speed estimates that were 80 MPH or higher. These estimates were determined based off damage reports and photos submitted through social media. The peak wind gust measured at the Iowa City Airport was 69 MPH before the power went out. The duration of strong winds caused extensive damage to most trees, powerlines, crops, and structures in their path. The widespread damage also resulted in long duration power outages. |
| May 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oxford | - | Several highway signs were blown down near mile marker 230 on Interstate 80. |
| November 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oxford | - | A storm spotter estimated winds up to 70 MPH occurred. |
| August 2010 | Flash Flood | Oxford | - | Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding along Old Mans Creek just southwest of Iowa City, IA during the morning of August 4. At 712 am CDT, the Corps of Engineers stream gage on Old Mans Creek indicated that it was over a foot above the flood stage at that time. |
| September 2007 | Hail | Oxford | - | A truck driver estimated nickel size hail on Interstate 80 west of Oxford, IA near mile marker 230. |
| September 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oxford | - | A truck driver estimated 70 mph winds on Interstate 80 west of Oxford, IA near mile marker 230. |
| April 2006 | Hail | Oxford | - | dime size hail |
| April 2006 | Funnel Cloud | Oxford | - | Also report from EM; public reported a funnel cloud near I-80 & Blackhawk Ave NE. |
| June 2006 | Funnel Cloud | Oxford | - | numerous reports of funnel clouds along I-80 |
| May 2001 | Funnel Cloud | Oxford | - | Reported by law enforcement. |
| May 2002 | Hail | Oxford | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cosgrove | 6.3 miles | 17 | |
| Tiffin | 6.9 miles | 17 | |
| Green Castle (historical) | 7.5 miles | 14 | |
| Windham | 8.0 miles | 12 | |
| Western Hills Mobine Estates | 8.6 miles | 17 | |
| Cou Falls | 9.0 miles | 14 | |
| Curtis (historical) | 9.3 miles | 14 | |
| Swisher | 9.9 miles | 14 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Oxford | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1926548 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 459975. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.







