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Oxford Map and History
Oxford is one of the oldest towns in Maryland. Although already settled for perOxford haps 20 years, Oxford The Strand Tilghman St. Market St. High St. East St. Division St. Oxford Road Benoni Ave. Pleasant St. Robes Hbr. Ct. South Morris Street Bachelor Point Road Pier St. E. Pier St. Bonfield Ave.Third StreetJack’s Pt. Rd.First Street 2nd St. W. Division St. Caroline St.West St. Tred Avon Ave. Myrtle Ave. Sinclair St. Richardson St.South Street Town Creek Rd. Wilson St. Stewart Ave. Norton St. Mill St. Jefferson St. Banks St.Factory St.Morris St. Oxford Community Center Oxford Park Bellevue Ferry T r e d A v o n R i v e r Town Creek Oxford To Easton 333 8 1 2 3 7 9 10 11 13 15 16 17 18 19 4 56 12 14 © John Norton marks the year 1683 as its official founding, for in that year Oxford was first named by the Maryland General Assembly as a seaport and was laid out as a town. In 1694, Oxford and a new town called Anne Arundel (now Annapolis) were selected the only ports of entry for the entire Maryland province. Until the American Revolution, Oxford enjoyed prominence as an international shipping center surrounded by wealthy tobacco plantations. Today, Oxford is a charming tree-lined and waterbound village with a population of just over 700 and is still important in boat building and yachting. It has a protected harbor for watermen who harvest oysters, crabs, clams and fish, and for sailors from all over the Bay.
For a walking tour and more history visit https://tidewatertimes. com/travel-tourism/oxford-maryland/.
Dogs of State Chesapeake duck dogs, a breed of surpassing excellence for the purtoday, or perhaps were St. John’s pose for which it is used.” Their Water Dogs, sometimes called double-thick coat colors were deLesser Newfoundlands. Regretta- scribed as either brown, sedge or bly, this latter breed in its purest dead grass. The undercoat made form is now extinct, but undoubt- them virtually waterproof on frigid edly survives in some measure in winter retrieves. In addition to disits larger cousins, as well as in Lab- tinctive physical qualities, adherradors and other retrievers. ents described them in terms such
The rescued “Newfoundlands” as “noble,” “sagacious,” “hardy” and their progeny were bred with and “unrivaled.” other strains already used along Lured from New York to MaryChesapeake shores to retrieve wa- land, J. Pierpont Morgan and other terfowl. By 1876 a recognizable prominent bankers and businessnew breed had emerged, traceable men maintained a club on Spesutie to both rescued pups, and shown Island, active from the 1890s until at a bench show in Baltimore. Rod the property was sold to the Army. and Gun and American Sportsman A stone “mystery monument” magazines reported “a display of found standing there was assumed
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to mark the grave of a favorite retriever but later proved to be the burial ground of mere mortals, a family named Gallup who pre-dated moguls on the island.
Despite the political clout of
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such well-connected club members around the Upper Bay, beginning in 1917 their prime locations were gradually absorbed into the Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground. Carroll’s Island became part of the chemical laboratory and testing site designated as the Edgewood Area.
From the First World War through the Cold War, military usage was relatively exempt from environmental concerns. Then, in the 1990s, the Department of Defense began to study what the 20th century’s wars and near-wars had induced them to create, test and/ or dispose of on Carroll’s Island. Pentagon-ese described their creations as “military unique chemical agents.” In plainer English, the Edgewood Area was said to have tested “every toxic chemical known to man.”
Ironically, the Shooting Grounds had once been a century ahead of time in environmental and wildlife preservation efforts. Because of its ideal location near the Susquehanna River, Carroll’s lay on the Atlantic Flyway, where the first settlers measured flights of canvasback by the mile. By the early 1800s, market gunners and impatient sportsmen had devised ever-more-lethal harvesting methods, putting a noticeable dent in duck populations. As their sport became impacted, a
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Oxford Business Association April Calendar
2-4 – Scottish Highland Creamery Opening Weekend. Open Fri-Sun, 12 – 8 p.m.; 314 Tilghman Street, Oxford; scottishhighlandcreamery.com 3 – Cars and Coffee - Anyone can come out and enjoy cars, coffee, and camaraderie. If you have a new, classic, or other interesting automobile, you and your car are welcome. Sponsored by Prestige Auto Vault and Doc’s Sunset Grille. Oxford Community Center. Free; 8:30 -10:30 a.m. 3 – Fred Hughes Jazz Trio Virtual Concert from the Oxford Community Center stage. Fred Hughes has performed in all fifty states, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Korea, and Europe. A sampling of the jazz festivals at which he has performed include the Newport, Montreux, Nice and North Sea Jazz Festivals. 5 - 6:30 p.m. $35 pp. Visit oxfordcc.org or call 410-226-5409 for more info tickets. 5, 9 or May 17 – SILK All-In-One Mineral Paint Demo & Instruction - Use Dixie Belle’s new Silk All-InOne mineral paint on practice boards. Morris St; 5-6 p.m.; $10 pp; Space limited to 6, social distancing, mask required. For more info or sign up, go to treasurechestoxford.com or 410-924-8817. 12, 22 or May 26 – All About Waxes to Finish Your Chalk Mineral Paint Project - Learn about finishing your chalk mineral paint furniture. 10% off all paint product purchases during the class. The Treasure Chest, 111 S. Morris St; 5:30 - 7 p.m.; $36 pp; Space limited to 4, social distancing, mask required. For more info or sign up, go to treasurechestoxford.com or 410-924-8817. 17-18 – Zoom conference “The Journey of a Hollywood Idea.” Do you have a good movie idea? TV? Have you ever wondered how the studio system works? This weekend is for you. Join Liza Ledford as she welcomes five studio executives via zoom to tell us how it works. In partnership with the Chesapeake Film Festival. Tickets are $75, discounted $65 for WIFTV members. Visit oxfordcc.org or 410-226-5409 for tickets & more. 19, May 13 or 21 – Bring Your Own Piece Furniture Painting Class. Three chances to learn how to use chalk mineral paint to paint and seal it! Furniture piece should be on the small side. The Treasure Chest, 111 S. Morris St; 5:30-8:30 p.m.; $65; Space limited to 3, social distancing, mask required. Pick your date and sign up at www.treasurechestoxford.com or 410-924-8817. 24 – Oxford Walks 21654 Celebration and Awards. Get your picture taken at the finish line. Outdoors, masked and socially distanced, but come together. 10 a.m. at Oxford Community Center - Free coffee. 26 – Oxford Community Center Annual Meeting. Zoom meeting and installation of new board members with a virtual happy hour; 5 p.m. Oxfordcc.org or more info. 26 – Beginner Chalk Mineral Painting Class. All materials provided. 10% off any paint or supplies purchased the night of the class. The Treasure Chest, 111 S. Morris St; 5:30-8:30 p.m.; $45; Space limited to 4, social distancing, mask required. For more info or sign up, go to treasurechestoxford.com or 410-924-8817. 29 – Capsize Restaurant Season Opening Open 7 days a week, 11am – 9 pm; 314 Tilghman Street, Oxford; capsizeoxmd.com; 410-226-5900 May 14-16 – Oxford’s Fine Arts Fair – Virtual Show and one day “Pop-Up Exhibit and Sales.” Don’t miss the dynamic Sneak Peak Preview Show online Friday the 14th, as well as Saturday 10-4 p..m online and outdoor gallery. Lunch and Strawberry shortcake available carry-out on Saturday. Sunday virtual show and raffle! Check www.portofoxford.com calendar for event updates and ongoing events.
Oxford Business Association ~ portofoxford.com
number of gentlefolk joined an efforts to curtail market gunning. In 1833, they successfully petitioned legislators to ban night-shooting and “guns so large they cannot be fired from the hand” in Baltimore County.
Through all this history, with a little help from their friends, retrievers gradually perfected their craft and diversified. A Chessie’s soft mouth and good nose made him ideal as a Prohibition Era “Hooch Hound” and as a modernday search-and-rescuer and bomb or drug sniffer.
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My personal history with Chesapeakes is somewhat iffy, as there was something questionable in my beloved Chuck’s background, just as some mystery attached to antecedents of Sailor and Canton. Chuck had the trademark Chessie amber eyes, smiling expression, oily brownish coat and love of Chesapeake waters (particularly Fishing Bay). He could pass for a purebred in a casual glance or a quick whiff.
Chuck had one fault, and that one defect brought him to my house. His prior owner was a hunting guide who was disappointed to discover that his promising-looking pup was gun-shy. Needing a working dog, the guide was happy to pass Chuck along to serve as a mere companion ~ a role he filled brilliantly. He was loyal to a fault and eager to “ride shotgun” with anyone who was unarmed.
Early of an evening one December, the Elliott Island wags were sitting in their usual spots in Miss
Nora’s Store, planning to enter the fire company’s secondhand tanker in the Cambridge Christmas parade. With no Dalmatians on the island, one suggested, “We could use Chuck for our fire dog.” “No,” said his neighbor, “if one of those old trucks backfires, we might never find him again.”
Forty-some years ago, A.M. Foley swapped the Washington, D.C., business scene for a writing life on Elliott Island, Maryland. Tidewater Times has kindly published portions of one upcoming work, Chesapeake Bay Island Hopping, along with other regional musings. Foley’s published works are described at www.HollandIslandBook.com.
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