Formed March 4, 1805 (7th county)
Oxford County (57,766), South Paris* (2,183), Rumford* (4,298)
The basic red brick Georgian courthouse was erected in 1895. It is on Western Avenue at Courthouse Road. G. M. Coombs was the building designer. Maine State Highway 117 is two blocks south of the site. A 1966 District Courthouse augments the county courthouse. There is also a 1916 augmenting court in Rumford. An 1815 version of the courthouse was in Paris Hill. The county was named for Oxford, Massachusetts. South Paris is named for local Paris Hill. Oxford County was the birthplace of 8 Maine Governors, Albion K. Parris, John Fairfield, John W. Dana, Hannibal Hamlin, Sidney Perham, Sebastian S. Marble, John F. Hill, and Edmund S. Muskie. The county was established on March 4, 1805 from parts of Cumberland and York counties as the 7th county.
Oxford Couty government consists of an administrator, a sheriff, a treasurer, and a coroner (executive). It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.) Two District Court Judges, One Superior Court Judge, One Probate Court Judge and a court clerk serve Oxford County (judicial.) It is located on the western border with New Hampshire. Portland, Maine is south and Manchester, New Hampshire is southwest of the county. The county center is 28.2 miles Northwest of South Paris nearer Newry. The county is surrounded clockwise by Canada and Franklin, Androscoggin, Cumberland, and York counties and New Hampshire.
The area of the county is 2175 square miles. It is 7 out of 16 in the state. It ranks 7 out of 16 in population in the state. It has a density of 26.6 persons per square mile making it 10 out of 16 in the state. Oxford County has 0.0% of its population in its incorporated areas since there are no incorporated cities. United States Highway 2 crosses the county east to west from Franklin County to New Hampshire. The county is shaped like a Native American hatchet on its head. South Paris is the extreme southeast part of the county. Rumford is near the eastern border of the county. South Paris is the county seat and Rumford is the largest populated area. South Paris is 3.8% of the county population while Rumford is 7.4% of the county population.
South Paris (unincorporated)
