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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/.
Lives Under Sail Rocks, headed even deeper into the granite minefield of the Isles of been about a fifteen-day, 3,000- Scilly, slayers of hundreds of ships mile voyage. Three days later, she and thousands of lives. was sighted clearing Grand Banks Dow dropped two anchors, fifty in good shape. Thereafter, an un- tons each, planning to allow the seen Lawson barely survived three crew some rest, while hoping a separate severe gales. tugboat would be dispatched. The
Captain Dow must have dreaded lightkeeper, alarmed by the locaFriday, the 13th of December, their tion of what “looks like a picket twenty-fourth day at sea. The foggy fence,” signaled for Royal National afternoon of the 13th, in a near- Lifeboats. The St. Agnes Isle crew, gale, he reached English waters, six one mile east of Lawson, launched remaining sails in tatters, lifeboats a thirty-eight-foot open lifeboat shattered and crew exhausted. into waves breaking eight feet high. Gradually, off the pitching star- Reaching the towering schooner board bow, Bishop’s Rock Light- after an hour’s toil, they shouted house emerged. The captain’s heart advice to a skeptical Dow: He and surely sank. They were landward of his crew had best come with them the lighthouse, inside the Western to safety, or else attempt escaping
202 Morris St., Oxford 410-226-0010
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their position. Off the gale-blown Atlantic, no anchors could hold on such rocky bottom. Captain Dow had undoubtedly heard old tales of “wreckers” preying along English shores. For whatever reason, he opted to trust his huge anchors and chains, rather than these would-be life-savers. He asked if they had a local pilot with them. Billy Cook Hicks, with twenty-five years’ pilot’s certification around his native Scillys, volunteered to risk scaling the schooner’s swaying ladder. With one of his own boat’s crewmen rendered unconscious, they had to return to St. Agnes. Hicks stayed to assist Dow, likely from a mixture of duty, local pride and potential reward if he managed to save ship and crew. Meanwhile, two tugboats and a steamer, alerted by telegraph, set out from Falmouth, but weather forced them back to port. As predicted, Lawson’s anchors inevitably dragged along rocky bottom in fifty-mile-per-hour winds, pi-
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Lives Under Sail was gone. Not waiting for a lifeboat crew to assemble, Freddie found lot and ship’s officers watching enough men to launch the smaller helplessly. Nearing Annet Rock, Slippen into heavy sea. Rowing one eighty-pound link of port an- frantically through gore and dechor chain snapped, its rifle-like bris, they ultimately rescued three crack resounding into the storm, survivors: Seaman George Allen followed thirty minutes later by was alone on Annet, grievously a starboard link. Lawson sprang wounded, and died the next day; free. All aboard scrambled upward Captain Dow and Engineer Rowe to tie themselves into rigging and had been thrown onto Hellweathawait their fate. From below, the ers rock and were spotted there in odor of spreading oil rose from a crevice. Lawson’s battered tanks. Slippen dared not come too near
At first light on St. Agnes, the the rock. Rowe, able to extract pilot’s twenty-year-old son, Fred- himself, swam to a rope and was die, could smell oil. He searched pulled aboard. Dow was frozen in the horizon for Lawson, but she shock, stranded fifty feet above the
water. Freddie swam, waded and climbed to him over slick, wavewashed granite. Somehow, with superhuman strength and courage, he maneuvered the much-larger, 250-pound captain to the Slippen. Freddie’s father could not be found or identified among remains retrieved later.
Since those days of sail, conspiracy theories have largely replaced equally malleable superstitions. Had things turned out better, someone could have said seven was a lucky number for masts. Instead, it was noted that Sun Oil Company, as well as Thomas H. Lawson, contained thirteen letters. Earlier, the ship’s owner and namesake, highly superstitious himself, had actually authored a book titled Friday, the Thirteenth.
On Hoopers Island, Captain Hooper’s daughter Gladys lovingly compiled and edited his memoir, privately published as My Years Before the Mast. He himself had survived several near-misses. Nevertheless, he was a contented man, looking back on his career with “keen satisfaction and happy serenity.” He wondered “in awe what great marvels would be done next by the hand of man.”
Unlike Captain Hooper, Captain Dow left no memoir. No record shows how haunted Dow may have
Open for Dinner Wednesday-Sunday, Lunch Wednesday-Saturday Brunch Sunday & Breakfast Thursday through Monday THE ROBERT MORRIS INN 1710 OXFORD MD
314 NORTH MORRIS STREET ٠ OXFORD ٠ 410 226 5111 WWW.ROBERTMORRISINN.COM 111
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410-226-0015 203 S. Morris St., Oxford
been as he recovered from his injuries and returned to sea. Likely, in those less eco-conscious times, the world’s first major oil spill factored little in any regrets he harbored.
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.
The Treasure Chest
A Gift Shop Featuring Locally Made Artisan Crafts & Artwork
Jewelry by Joan’s Gems Local Artwork Handmade Pottery and Mosaics Port of Oxford Merchandise T-shirts & More! Furniture Painting Classes Available, Register Online
Wed. ~ Mon. 10 AM to 5 PM, closed Tues. · treasurechestofoxford@gmail.com
Oxford Business Association June Calendar
Oxford Ferry is open! Running daily from 9 a.m. till sunset. Call 410-745-9023 for exact times of the last trip! Oxford Vintage & Trade, a curated collection of antique and vintage items with a fl air for Maryland’s Eastern Shore, has moved. Come visit the new location, 201 Tilghman St., on the way to Capsize and Scottish Highland Creamery! Open Thur.-Sun, noon-5 p.m.
6/3, 6/16 or 6/24 Bring Your Own Piece Furniture Painting Class - bring a small piece such as a plant stand or picture frame and learn how to paint it with Chalk Mineral paint. Includes 8 oz. jar paint and 8 oz. sealer for you to keep. 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., $65. The Treasure Chest, 111 S. Morris St. For more info visit
treasurechestoxford.com.
6/5 Cars and Coffee - Anyone can come out and enjoy cars, coffee, and camaraderie. Sponsored by Prestige Auto Vault and Doc’s Sunset Grille. Oxford Community Center. Free; 8:30 -10:30 a.m. the 1st Sat. of each month. Oxfordcc.org; 410-226-5409 6/6 Musical performances by the Tred Avon Players. Directed by Marcia Gilliam. Outdoors at Oxford Community Center. Free. Bring a lawn chair and picnic to the Oxford Community Center, 200 Oxford Rd.; 3 PM. RSVP required @ oxfordcc.org (due to space limitations). Will be moved indoors if inclement weather. 6/11 Sign Painting and Transfers - learn how to paint a sign with an inspirational word transfer. All materials provided. 5:30 p.m.-7 p.m., $36. The Treasure Chest, 111 S. Morris St. For more info or sign up, go to
treasurechestoxford.com
6/12 Community Art Installation Ribbon Cutting - Created to be a welcoming beacon at the Oxford Community Center, built together by people of all ages, from Oxford and neighboring communities. Our intent is to illuminate and celebrate “Our diverse world.” The art installation will serve as an inviting, welcoming area for gathering or peaceful contemplation for all who visit the space. Outdoors, Noon at OCC. This project is presented in part by the Talbot County Arts Council 6/13 Bill W and Dr. Bob - Directed by Rob Sanchez. “The miraculous story, beautifully told, of the men who named the disease and created the cure.” - Martin Sheen. Tred Avon Players free, outdoor readers theatre. Bring a lawn chair and picnic to the Oxford Community Center, 200 Oxford Rd.; 3 p.m. RSVP required @ oxfordcc.org (due to space limitations). Will be moved indoors if inclement weather. 6/14 SILK All-In-One Mineral Paint Demo & Instruction - Watch how to use Dixie Belle’s new Silk All-In-One mineral paint. Learn how to apply it and try it out on practice pieces. Seating limited to 6 people for this demo. 5-6 p.m., $10. The Treasure Chest, 111 S. Morris St. For more info or sign up, go to treasurechestoxford.com. 6/26 Summer Solstice Concert with The Rosewood Band - Bring your lawn chair and relax or dance to the music of Rosewood. (Indoors if inclement weather). Go to musicbyrosewood.com to sample their music. Dine at one of Oxford’s fi ne restaurants before the show. 6 p.m., $20. Oxford Community Center. Oxfordcc. org or 410-226-5904 for more info. 6/30 Beginner Chalk Mineral Paint Class - learn how to use Dixie Belle chalk mineral paint and sealers to paint furniture, picture frames, home décor items too! You will be painting practice boards, applying paints, glazes & sealers. All materials provided. 5:30-8:30 p.m., $45 The Treasure Chest, 111 S. Morris St. For more info or sign up, go to treasurechestoxford.com Tred Avon Yacht Club – race schedule and updates available at tayc.com/racing Check www.portofoxford.com calendar for event updates and ongoing events.
Oxford Business Association ~ portofoxford.com
