Oxly Once Thrived At Start Of 20th Century

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Located on the Old Military Road, the town of Oxly is one of the oldest communities in Ripley County. After the railroad arrived in 1882, the town quickly grew to become a well-established business center by the time this photo was made around 1900. By 1930, the town was thriving with a main street boardwalk, a bank, several general stores, a hotel, cream station, sawmill, machine shop, several churches and even a dance hall. But the Great Depression brought hard changes in 1933, closing the bank, the Ormsby tomato factory and Dusza’s roller mill. By 1955, Highway 142 leading to Doniphan and Naylor was fully blacktopped and the local school was consolidated with Naylor. Most community activity today centers around the Oxly Volunteer Fire Department.

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