The Oxford Journal

There is perhaps no better resource for researching the history of a community than a small-town newspaper. Oxford was incredibly fortunate to have one (well, two, but that's a longer story). The Oxford Journal published from 2 June 1898 through March 1996, and predates the community's incorporation as a town in 1904!

Unfortunately, The Oxford Journal ended its publishing run and left no online archive of material. There are microform copies available for consultation at the Cumberland County Museum and Archives in Amherst, NS, and at the Cumberland County Genealogy Society offices, also in Amherst. The Public Archives of Nova Scotia (Halifax) has a third copy, accessible to researchers. 

The OHS has a physical copy of The Oxford Journal dating from January, 1931. That leaves the first 33 years of publication which we do not possess. Even the microform copies are not complete prior to 1918. With regard to our paper copies, due to the physical condition of the material, this archive is not publicly accessible. Requests for material in that archive may be made by email, and will be accommodated as our volunteers are able. In some cases, if the physical record is very delicate, it may not be possible to immediately provide assistance — in any case, access to the CCMA or CCGS microform material would be recommended for ease-of-access.

Some material — births, deaths, marriages — published in The Oxford Journal are/were made available by volunteers Dyan Matheson and Kathryn Jeffers, among others, via the RootsWeb website. It is no longer being actively maintained, but some material should still be available online.

The Oxford Journal at Rootsweb  http://sites.rootsweb.com/~nscumber/oxford/index.html 

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The Oxonian — and other Oxford school yearbooks, etc.

The OHS is gradually adding to our digitized collection of yearbooks from the Oxford High School / Oxford Regional High School. Material from prior to 1953 is difficult to find, with many documents being lost to the fire that claimed the school building. If you have school-related material that could add to our collection, please drop us a line!  We would be pleased to give that material a home, or digitize it for online use and return the original material to its owner.

Our collection of digitized yearbooks is available here:  

OHS GOOGLE DRIVE

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Other Resources on local history & genealogy

• Amherst Area Historical Trust <https://www.facebook.com/AmherstHeritageTrust/>
• Cumberland County Genealogy Society <http://www.ccgs.ednet.ns.ca/> 
• Cumberland County Museum & Archives <https://www.cumberlandmuseum.net/>
• Greville Bay Shipbuilding Museum Society <https://ageofsailmuseum.ca/>
• Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia <https://www.htns.ca/>
• Mattinson Hansford Cemetery Society <https://www.facebook.com/groups/1633357143446437> 
• Minudie Heritage Association <http://minudieheritage.ca/>
• North Cumberland Historical Society <https://ncumbhistorical.wixsite.com/genealogyhistory>
• Nova Scotia Genealogy (NS Public Archives) <https://novascotiagenealogy.com> 
• Ottawa House Museum & Archives <https://www.ottawahousemuseum.ca/> (Parrsborough Shore Historical Society)
• Historic Stories & Research - Parrsboro NS <https://www.facebook.com/michaelgwinters> 
• Springhill Heritage Group <http://www.springhillheritage.ca>
• Wallace & Area Museum <http://www.wallacemuseum.ca/>
• Wentworth-Westchester Historical Group <https://www.facebook.com/WentworthWestchesterHistory/>
• We Remember Society <https://weremembersociety.ca​> 
  
• The Council of Nova Scotia Archives <https://www.councilofnsarchives.ca/> 

And more!

The seemingly indefatigable Dale Fawthrop of Amherst hosts This is When, a feature on Tantramar Community Radio 107.95 FM. The show features historical news and events, broadcast twice daily at 9:00am and 4:00pm. This show was preceded by The 1867 News, in a similar format. This is When does have an online archive, but as of our last visit, only a couple of shows were available..

Are we missing a resource? Let us know: [email protected]