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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.

Oxford within Johnson County

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

Population over time

2 figures

Oxford 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.

YearPeople Change
2010807
2020722-85 (-11%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 12 printed sheets

Matched 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.

Fires near this place

22 since 2007

Regional 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 burning12
Missing data/not specified/undetermined9
Misuse of fire by a minor1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
7 August 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined15 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
13 July 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
10 July 2012Debris and open burningunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
6 June 2013Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
4 April 2015Debris and open burning15 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
30 April 2018Debris and open burning40 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
26 April 2014Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
16 April 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Johnson County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Rohret PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Johnson County

Storms near this place

17 since 1997

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2003Thunderstorm WindOxford$70,000no account filed
April 2001Tornado (F0)Oxford$25,000An F0 tornado moved across rural areas south of Oxford, and destroyed a barn and a garage at two farms. There were no injuries.
April 2006HailOxford$10,000golfball size hail
July 2007LightningOxford$5,000Lightning 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 1997HailOxford$1,000Hail broke several windshields.
June 1998HailOxford$200Windshields were broken by golf ball size hail.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindOxford-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 2019Thunderstorm WindOxford-Several highway signs were blown down near mile marker 230 on Interstate 80.
November 2015Thunderstorm WindOxford-A storm spotter estimated winds up to 70 MPH occurred.
August 2010Flash FloodOxford-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 2007HailOxford-A truck driver estimated nickel size hail on Interstate 80 west of Oxford, IA near mile marker 230.
September 2007Thunderstorm WindOxford-A truck driver estimated 70 mph winds on Interstate 80 west of Oxford, IA near mile marker 230.
April 2006HailOxford-dime size hail
April 2006Funnel CloudOxford-Also report from EM; public reported a funnel cloud near I-80 & Blackhawk Ave NE.
June 2006Funnel CloudOxford-numerous reports of funnel clouds along I-80
May 2001Funnel CloudOxford-Reported by law enforcement.
May 2002HailOxford-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Johnson County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
Cosgrove6.3 miles17
Tiffin6.9 miles17
Green Castle (historical)7.5 miles14
Windham8.0 miles12
Western Hills Mobine Estates8.6 miles17
Cou Falls9.0 miles14
Curtis (historical)9.3 miles14
Swisher9.9 miles14

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 OxfordAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1926548The 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.