Oxford Map and History

Oxford is one of the oldest towns in Maryland. Although already settled for perhaps 20 years, Oxford marks the year 1683 The Strand Tilghman 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/.

St. Market St. High St. East

St. Division St.

Benoni Ave. Pleasant St. Robes Hbr. Ct. South Morris Street Bachelor Point Road Pier St. E. Pier St. Oxford Road

W. Division St. Caroline St.West St. Tred Avon Ave. First Street Jack’s Pt. Rd. Third Street Bonfield Ave. 2nd St.

Ave. Myrtle

Stewart Ave. Norton St. Mill St. Wilson St. Banks St.Factory St.Morris St. Oxford Park South Street Jefferson St. Sinclair St. Richardson St. Town Creek Rd.

Oxford Community Center

Oxford Bellevue Ferry

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Cody didn’t know it when Frank first approached him, but his situation would soon change. En route to New Orleans, the Wild West’s steamboat had collided with another. Their boat took an hour settling, time enough to save the cast and horses, but not equipment and many props. Cody telegraphed Salisbury, “Outfit at bottom of river. What do you advise?” Salisbury replied, “Go to New Orleans, reorganize, and open on your date.”

Within eight days, Cody replaced assorted animals, wagons and accessories and opened on time. Despite losing many belongings, an unnerved Bogardus completed the engagement, but by spring of 1885 he decided not to return. Hearing of this, Frank contacted Cody again, proposing three free Annie Oakley trial performances. Her appearances would stretch from three days to spanning 17 triumphant years.

With Salisbury’s oversight, Wild West’s operations improved. When they embarked for Europe in 1887, a vast crowd gathered to watch as, in some respects, they outdid Noah’s Ark. Along with performers of various ethnicities, Cody boarded 180 horses, 18 buffalo, 10 elk, 10 mules, five Texas longhorns, four donkeys and two deer. When the tour reached Germany, the Kaiser’s army sent 40 Prussian officers to tag along, taking meticulous notes

202 Morris St., Oxford 410-226-0010

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on logistics as the show was set up and broken down, and the fi eld kitchen fed 750 performers and roustabouts.

Through these years, Frank and Annie carefully avoided proclaiming her a “champion,” lest she be targeted by publicity-seekers. Nevertheless, Frank had to fend off many who sought to cash in on her growing fame by trading on her name with false comparisons or challenges. Frank exposed impostors and deplored fakers using trickery in their shooting acts. When Annie challenged newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst in a series of libel suits, Frank reverted from business manager to family breadwinner, supporting her

successful legal struggles for nearly a decade. While Annie repaired her good name, Frank traveled as a representative of Union Metallic Cartridge Company. Along the way, he shot in exhibitions and matches, his record not up to Annie’s but adding to family coffers.

Nothing indicates Frank ever resented yielding the spotlight to his “little girl.” His good nature even encompassed slights in English country houses, where aristocrats invited Annie to shoot their private game preserves. He laughed about an incident when household staff gave every deference to m’Lord’s famous guest, but no courtesy to the Irishman, assuming Butler was his occupation rather than their surname.

Entering her fifties, Annie appeared to tire of life in a tent. Frank was charmed while visiting Cambridge, Maryland, which struck him as a “sportsman’s paradise,” with plentiful game in nearby fields and rivers. Annie still loved to hunt and seemed ready to build a house, find a good dog and settle into shooting for pure pleasure. They designed a modest house just beyond town on Hambrooks Bay, overlooking the Choptank River. From the porch’s upper deck, they could shoot waterfowl. Frank found a remarkably intelligent English setter he named Dave to accompany Annie afield.

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Dave was easily trained, but retraining Annie to a stationary life proved diffi cult. Admittedly, she was no housekeeper. In a tent or hotel room, needlework had been her favorite occupation, but she no longer needed to craft and embroider costumes. Frank might have been content to pass future retirement watching river traffi c from the front porch, hanging with other sportsmen in the hardware store, performing local benefi ts and then wintering farther south. Annie was ten years younger and grew restless, so they sold their house after nine years and never had their own home again.

They traveled seasonally, mostly to North Carolina and to Florida, where Annie was severely injured in an automobile accident, temporarily partially paralyzed. When her health declined, they went to her family in Ohio, where she passed away November 3, 1926. Frank died 18 days later.

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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A Gift Shop Featuring Locally Made Artisan Crafts & Artwork

111 S. Morris St., Oxford MD 410-924-8817 www.treasurechestoxford.com

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Friday, Dec. 3 through Sunday, Dec. 5 Most items in the store 10%- 50% OFF Come see our local Sea Glass Jewelry and Sea Glass Art!

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