This is not the first building to stand on this site. One of Oxford’s earliest residences was built here in 1695, and remained here until the 1920s. We’ll share the story of the house and where it went a little later in the tour (Stop #18).
The building you see today was constructed as a general store in the nineteen forties. It was Colburn’s Market and they offered delivery! The last owners to run it were Bill Bringman and his mother, Miss Myrt. Miss Myrt was a very petite woman who was renowned for her ability to add up a large bill without use of paper and pen, much less a calculator. Many of Oxford’s long-term residents still remember buying ice cream at the soda fountain and remember making phone calls from the phone booth that stood on the corner. The Museum purchased the building in the year 2000 to replace the temporary space it had been using in the Town Hall across Market Street.
The Museum was chartered in 1964, sparked by the discovery of numerous artifacts unearthed by workmen in the park just across Morris Street. These shards of pottery and glass are still on view in the Museum just as they were originally displayed, but the stories of those artifacts still have their roots in the Park.
And as we walk around today, be sure to notice two special features of the Oxford landscape. Our brick sidewalks have their beginnings before the American Revolution, while the origins of our unique picket fence design remains shrouded in myth and mystery.
Now turn left and head north on Morris St. and stop in front of #205 - The Academy House.
