Oxford and Lafayette County were formed from the Pontotoc Treaty and theChickasaw Cession of 1832 and the revised agreement in 1834. This treaty withthe Chickas... » 

Oxford and Lafayette County were formed from the Pontotoc Treaty and theChickasaw Cession of 1832 and the revised agreement in 1834. This treaty withthe Chickasaws ceded land that formed 12 counties in North Mississippi. On June22 1836 three land speculators John Martin John Chisom and John Craigdonated 50 acres to the Board of Police for the formation of the city ofOxford. The name Oxford was proposed by a nephew of John Craig Thomas D. Isomwho worked for him in his trading post in hopes that the state legislaturewould place the new state university there. Oxford was chartered by the Stateof Mississippi on May 11 1837. The University of Mississippi opened its doorsin 1848. «