1952-Present: Oxford Rises Again

1952-Present: Oxford Rises Again. The Oxford Museum. , 1952 , The 4.3-mile-long William P. Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridge (Chesapeake Bay Bridge) opens, replacing ferries and vastly improving connections to the Eastern Shore., 1954 , The Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision rules that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional., 1956 , The first Black students are admitted to Oxford Elementary School., Railroad freight service to Oxford ends., 1960 , John F. Kennedy is elected president., National Marine Fisheries Service opens the Oxford Laboratory to combat MSX, a parasitic disease that has decimated the Bay's oyster population., 1962 , The US compels the Soviet Union to withdraw nuclear weapons from Cuba., 1963 , President John F. Kennedy is assassinated. Lyndon Johnson becomes President., Race riots erupt in Cambridge, MD., 1964 , The Oxford Museum is established., President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act banning discrimination on grounds of race, color, religion, nationality., The US steps up its military intervention in Vietnam., 1966 , Talbot County schools are fully integrated, twlve years after being required to do so by Federal law., 1967 , Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) of Baltimore is the first African American appointed to the U.S. Supreme Corut., 1968 , Civil rights leader Martin Luther King is assassinated., The US military presence in Vietnam exceeds 500,000 personnel, US astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the Moon., 1970 , Oxford's population is 750., 1971 , The Oxford School closes., 1973 , The second span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge opens, increasing traffic flow to the Eastern Shore once again., 1978 , James Michener's epic novel "Chesapeake" becomes a national best-seller. Michener lived on the Eastern Shore for two years while working on his book., 1980 , The steel-hulled ferry Talbot is put into service., 1983 , The Chesapeake Bay Agreement is signed by Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, DC, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to improve water quality and protect marine habitats., 1985 , Bachelor's Point area re-zoned for development., 1986 , The Oxford Historic District is established., 1993 , Bachelor's Point and Oxford Laboratory land annexed into the Town of Oxford., 1999 , Hel's Half Acre neighborhood annexed., 2000 , Oxford's population is 771., A new Oxford Town Hall is built on Market Street., The Oxford Museum purchases Bringman's Store as its new (and current home)., Morgan's Point, the land surrounding historic Plimhimmon, is re-zoned for development., 2004 , Oxford's Historic District is included on the National Register of Historic Places., The total land area of Oxford is 366 acres, with 6.4 miles of waterfront., 2010 , Oxford's population is 651., After 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and other American targets, the US declares War on Terrorism. Troops sent to Iraq and Afghanistan., 2011 , A "living shoreline" is built to protect the waterfront along Town Park., 2016 , The Oxford Conservation Park is opened on the Oxford Road., 2020 , A national emergency is declared over the COVID-19 pandemic. Scores of new families, able to work and attend schools remotely, leave urban areas and purchase homes in Oxford.