Editing Oxford, Mississippi (section)

==Arts and culture==
[[File:Phone Booth Oxford MS.jpg|thumb|upright|Oxford phone booth by City Hall]]

===Attractions===
[[File:Rowan Oak.JPG|thumb|[[Rowan Oak]], the home of [[William Faulkner]]]]
[[File:Book store on the square in Oxford MS.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Square Books]]]]
[[File:Court House Oxford.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Lafayette County Court House]]
In addition to the historic Lafayette County Courthouse, the Square is known for an abundance of locally owned restaurants, specialty boutiques, and professional offices, along with Oxford City Hall.

* The J. E. Neilson Co., located on the southeast corner of the Square, is the South's oldest documented store. Founded as a trading post in 1839, Neilson's continues to anchor the Oxford square. Neilsons (pronounced Nelsons) was one of the few stores to survive the burning of Oxford during the Civil war. It stands within eyesight of one of Oxford's two confederate statues (one was erected after the original faced south because the South "never retreats;" a Falkner (William added a "U") paid for the second). Neilson's also features a letter from William Faulkner, who repeatedly refused to pay debts owed to the department store. When the [[Great Depression]] hit Oxford and most of the banks in town closed, Neilson's acted as a surrogate bank, cashing paychecks for university employees and others. Neilson's is also the only store in Oxford to carry supplies for Boy Scout uniforms.
* [[Square Books]], founded in 1979, is an [[independent bookstore]].<ref>{{cite news |date=October 17, 2016 |title=Interview with a bookstore: Square Books, in William Faulkner's hometown |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/17/interview-with-a-bookstore-square-books-in-william-faulkners-hometown |work=The Guardian |access-date=June 17, 2021 |archive-date=June 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618015912/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/17/interview-with-a-bookstore-square-books-in-william-faulkners-hometown |url-status=live }}</ref> A sister store, Off Square Books, is several doors down the street to the east. It deals in used and remainder books and is the venue for a radio show called ''Thacker Mountain Radio'', with host Jim Dees, that is broadcast statewide on Mississippi Public Broadcasting. The show often draws comparisons to [[Garrison Keillor]]'s ''[[A Prairie Home Companion]]'' for its mix of author readings and musical guests. A third store, Square Books Jr., deals exclusively in children's books and educational toys.
* [[Lyric Theater (Oxford, Mississippi)|The Lyric Theater]], just off the courthouse square, is Oxford's largest music venue, with a capacity near 1200. Originally built in the late 1800s, the structure became a livery stable owned by William Faulkner's family in the early part of the 20th century. During the 1920s it became Oxford's first motion picture theater, the Lyric. In 1949, Faulkner walked from [[Rowan Oak|his home]] in Oxford to his childhood stable for the world premiere of MGM's ''Intruder in the Dust'', adapted from one of his novels. The building housed office space and a health center from the early 1980s. After extensive restoration, the Lyric reopened on July 3, 2008, as a live music venue. It also is used occasionally for film and live drama. 
* The Gertrude Castellow Ford Center for the Performing Arts on the [[University of Mississippi]]'s campus hosts a broad range of events, such as symphony performances, operas, musicals, plays, comedy tours, chamber music, and guest lectures. The Ford Center, as it is commonly known, also hosted the 2008 presidential debate between former President Barack Obama and Senator John McCain. 
* The [[University of Mississippi Museum]] is located on the University of Mississippi's main campus. The Robinson collection of Greek and Roman antiquities and the Millington-Barnard collection of 19th century scientific instruments are permanent collections of the museum. The museum is also home to the personal collections of Kate Skipwith and Mary Buie. The permanent exhibits are free to the public.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://museum.olemiss.edu/ |title=University Museum — |website=Museum.olemiss.edu |access-date=February 2, 2020 |archive-date=February 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201131215/https://museum.olemiss.edu/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The Burns-Belfry Museum was previously the Burns Methodist Episcopal Church organized by freed African Americans in 1910. Now, the museum pays tribute to its role in the Civil War era. The museum houses a permanent exhibit on African American history that spans from slavery through the Civil Rights Movement.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.burns-belfry.com/ |title=Untitled Document |website=Burns-belfry.com |access-date=February 2, 2020 |archive-date=September 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190908121724/http://www.burns-belfry.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Culture ===
* Oxford has had a diverse music scene for many years. Oxford's relatively close proximity to large music cities such as [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]], and [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], influence its musical stylings. Musicians past and present living in Oxford include [[Beanland (band)|Beanland]], The Cooters, [[Bass Drum of Death]], Parliamentary Procedure, [[Kudzu Kings]], [[Blue Mountain (band)|Blue Mountain]], [[George McConnell]], [[Caroline Herring]], and blues [[harmonica|harp]] player [[Adam Gussow]]. 
* Oxford is also the home of the music label [[Fat Possum Records]], who released records by blues legends [[R. L. Burnside]] and [[Junior Kimbrough]], as well as [[The Black Keys]].  [[Johnny Marr]], former [[guitarist]] for [[The Smiths]] and current member of [[Modest Mouse]] bought a home in Oxford but no longer lives in it.  Former [[Derek and the Dominos]] member [[Bobby Whitlock]] lived in Oxford where he had a ranch and his own studio.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}
* Musicians [[Modest Mouse]], [[Gavin Degraw]], [[Elvis Costello]], [[The Hives]], and [[Counting Crows]] have recorded albums at [[Sweet Tea Recording Studio]] in Oxford. Dennis Herring, the owner of Sweet Tea, has received Grammy awards for his work with artists such as [[Jars of Clay]] and blues great [[Buddy Guy]].
* [[Bob Dylan]] wrote a song called "[[Oxford Town]]", which was included on his 1963 album ''[[The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan]]''. The song was about the violent events surrounding the admission of [[James Meredith]] into the [[University of Mississippi]] in 1962. Dylan played a memorable concert at the Tad Smith Coliseum on the Ole Miss campus in November 1990, which opened with a performance of the song "Oxford Town".
* Oxford has been the setting for numerous movies, including ''[[Intruder in the Dust (1949 film)|Intruder in the Dust]]'' (1949, based on the [[Intruder in the Dust|Faulkner novel]]), ''[[Home from the Hill (film)|Home from the Hill]]'' (1960), ''Barn Burning'' (1980, based on the [[Barn Burning|Faulkner short story]]), ''Rush'' (1981 documentary), ''[[Heart of Dixie (film)|Heart of Dixie]]'' (1989), ''[[The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag]]'' (1992), ''Glorious Mail'' (2005), ''Sorry, We're Open'' (2008 documentary), ''The Night of the Loup Garou'' (2009), ''Where I Begin'' (2010), and parts of ''[[The People vs. Larry Flynt]]'' (1997).
* American journalist and novelist [[Joan Didion]] mentions Oxford in her 1979 collection of essays ''[[The White Album (book)|The White Album]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Didion |first1=Joan |title=The white album |date=November 10, 2009 |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |isbn=978-0374532079 |edition=Paperback [reissue]ition }}</ref>

=== Historic sites===
[[File:Ammadelle, 637 North Lamar Boulevard, Oxford (Lafayette County, Mississippi).jpg|thumb|[[Ammadelle]] (1859) was designed by [[Central Park]] co-designer [[Calvert Vaux]].]]
See also [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Lafayette County, Mississippi]]<ref>{{cite book |author=Thomas S. Hines |title=William Faulkner and the Tangible Past : The Architecture of Yoknapatawpha |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |date=1997 |url=http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft0z09n7jz&chunk.id=0&doc.view=print |access-date=March 1, 2012 |archive-date=August 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809201414/http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft0z09n7jz&chunk.id=0&doc.view=print |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[Lyceum-The Circle Historic District]], University of Mississippi.

* [[Ammadelle]] (Pegues House), designed by [[Calvert Vaux]]
* [[Barnard Observatory]] ([[Center for the Study of Southern Culture]]), University of Mississippi, 1859
* [[Isom Place]], {{Circa|1843}}, remodeled 1848
* [[Lafayette County Courthouse (Mississippi)|Lafayette County Courthouse]], 1872, designed by Willis, Sloan, and Trigg
* [[Lucius Q. C. Lamar House]], ca. 1860[[File:James Meredith Statue.jpg|thumb|upright|[[James Meredith]] Statue]]
* [[Lyceum-The Circle Historic District|The Lyceum]], University of Mississippi, 1848, designed by [[William Nichols (architect)|William Nichols]]
* [[Rowan Oak]] (William Faulkner House), 1848
* [[St. Peter's Episcopal Church (Oxford, Mississippi)|St. Peter's Episcopal Church]], 1860, attributed to [[Richard Upjohn]] (Neo-Gothic)
* [[University of Mississippi Power House]], site of William Faulkner's 1930 novel ''[[As I Lay Dying]]''
* [[Lyceum-The Circle Historic District|Ventress Hall]], University of Mississippi, 1889 (Richardson Romanesque)