Located in the northern reaches of Mississippi state, Oxford draws in thousands of visitors a year and is ranked one of America’s favorite small towns. With its wonderfully preserved original buildings, Oxford is a quaint town that can be seen best on foot. Aside from its architectural excellence, Oxford has also made it in the arts as the home of a wealth of past and present writers including William Faulkner and modern-day best selling author John Grisham.
Of all the old, antebellum towns in the state of Mississippi, Oxford is surely the most impressive. Take time to see landmarks like the Lafayette Courthouse and Rowan Oak, home of now deceased author William Faulkner. His body is laid at the town’s cemetery, where tradition requires visitors to leave a pint of scotch, his favorite drink.
Oxford goes mad for the traditional British red double-decker buses to such an extent that an annual festival is held here accompanied by music and dancing in the historic town square, one of the most popular events of the year. Lovers of the outdoors need not confine themselves to the town centre as there are numerous parks and gardens in and around the town. Puskus Lake Recreation Area, just 10 miles away, offers fishing, camping and hiking in a suitably remote setting.
Highlights
Rowan Oak: the home of the late novelist William Faulkner is one of Oxford’s prized assets with part of one of his novels written on a bedroom wall. The grounds here, lined with trees, are stunning.
Oxford Courthouse: the main landmark in the downtown area, the old courthouse still retains its original courtroom after it was rebuilt following destruction during the American Civil War.
Oxford Cemetery: contains the graves of William Faulkner and Mississippi’s sole Supreme Court judge.
Puskus Lake Recreation Area: a 20-minute drive out of the town, this nature park provides the chance to get away from it all for a walk and camping with full facilities.