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It is frequently said that we don't know what we have, until it's gone. Such is the case of The Oxford Journal, the weekly chronicle of the community and surrounding areas from 1898 until its sudden closure in 2015. Stanley Marchant came to the town in 1902, purchased the newspaper, and his family directed its operations until great-grandson Paul Marchant was forced to close its doors due to declining advertising revenue as the digital age arrived, and many people sought their news via a computer screen. In its final few years, the Oxford Journal was available to subscribers in a digital format, but it was not enough to keep the lights on.
It was one of the last independently-owned small-town newspapers in the province.
One-hundred and seventeen years is an impressive record for any business. When that business is the chronicle of local lives and events, the immense historical value of the material published within its pages is clear in retrospect. Over the years, various individuals and organizations have transcribed material from past issues, attempting to bring vital statistics (births, deaths, marriages) into a form that can be accessed digitally, though in the long-term there is no guarantee that those efforts will remain within reach.
A significant portion of the Oxford Journal collection is available via microfilm, at the Public Archives of Nova Scotia (PANS) and the Cumberland County Museum and Archives (CCMA). Physical collections are held by the Cumberland County Genealogy Society (CCGS), the Oxford Historical Society (OHS), and others — each with differing degrees of accessibility. And insofar as we can determine, no collection is complete. The microfilm collections have "scattered" issues between 1898 and 1918. With the earliest physical issues now more than a hundred years old, they are extremely delicate and thus not available for the public to handle. Digitization represents a potential future path to making the material available, but this is a very costly endeavour, with approximately 6,000 issues to scan.
It was one of the last independently-owned small-town newspapers in the province.
One-hundred and seventeen years is an impressive record for any business. When that business is the chronicle of local lives and events, the immense historical value of the material published within its pages is clear in retrospect. Over the years, various individuals and organizations have transcribed material from past issues, attempting to bring vital statistics (births, deaths, marriages) into a form that can be accessed digitally, though in the long-term there is no guarantee that those efforts will remain within reach.
A significant portion of the Oxford Journal collection is available via microfilm, at the Public Archives of Nova Scotia (PANS) and the Cumberland County Museum and Archives (CCMA). Physical collections are held by the Cumberland County Genealogy Society (CCGS), the Oxford Historical Society (OHS), and others — each with differing degrees of accessibility. And insofar as we can determine, no collection is complete. The microfilm collections have "scattered" issues between 1898 and 1918. With the earliest physical issues now more than a hundred years old, they are extremely delicate and thus not available for the public to handle. Digitization represents a potential future path to making the material available, but this is a very costly endeavour, with approximately 6,000 issues to scan.
The Oxford Journal — holdings & access options
- Oxford Historical Society: physical newspaper broadsheet; nearly complete for years 1931 – 1999. NO PUBLIC ACCESS. Research requests will be fulfilled on an ad-hoc basis, as time permits. Requests: [email protected]
- Cumberland County Museum and Archives: microfilm access (Reader only; no printing options available). https://www.cumberlandmuseum.net/
- Cumberland County Genealogy Society (CCGS): NO PUBLIC ACCESS. Research requests may be sent to [email protected]
- Public Archives of Nova Scotia (PANS): microfilm access. For information on visiting the PANS in Halifax, see: https://archives.novascotia.ca/visitor-information/