Oxford is a tiny, unassuming little village in south-central Nebraska. It's got the same slightly rough, no-nonsense look that you can find in almost every small Nebraska town...but it's also got a very interesting history that not many people know about.
(Please note that the following pictures were not taken in Oxford; they are used for illustrative purposes only.)
According to Oxford history, the town was once a very popular stopover for hobos on their way between towns. In the early 20th century, hobos were migratory workers who traveled, often on railroad cars, looking for work wherever they could find it. They weren't "tramps" or "bums," both of whom would do anything possible to avoid work. Hobos were hardy men who may have been down on their luck, but didn't shy away from work.
Oxford was a popular spot for hobos to rest in for a number of reasons. The town was a railway division point with a significant roundhouse, meaning that trains were constantly passing through. Just a stone's throw away from the train station was a river bed with a conveniently high bank. Hobos passing through town would conceal themselves behind this bank to socialize, rest, and clean up.
By stripping down to the bare necessities, washing their clothes in the Republican River, and then donning the newly clean clothes, these transients could transform themselves from dirty, grizzled travelers to...well, slightly less dirty, grizzled travelers. On a warm day, a dozen or more hobos could be found hanging around the river bank, earning the spot the nickname "hobo haven."
The majority of hobos traveled to look for work because they were impoverished. Most had no idea where their next meal would come from. They relied on handouts from strangers in some very trying economic times. Sometimes they got lucky and behind the door they knocked on would be a sandwich, a cup of coffee, or even an old pair of trousers discarded by the man of the house.
It was, in part, the kindness and generosity of the people of Oxford that prompted the hobos to gather there in such numbers. But in the mid-30s, the travelers began having a difficult time finding a family able to share anything with them. Add to that the fact that the river bed had changed and was no longer the perfect private bathing spot, and the demise of the "hobo haven" was inevitable.
Now you can't even tell that there were once caverns in the riverbank in which transients congregated. The story of the hobos in Oxford is an interesting one that, if not for the careful documenting of the tale by the people of Oxford, might be lost to time. Oxford certainly wasn't the only town with hobos; Omaha was once a major congregating place for these weary travelers, as were many of the other railroad towns in Nebraska.
If you like learning about Nebraska history, take a look at these five obscure facts you didn't learn about our state in school.
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