Location: Oxford
Top Things to do in Oxford
The 7 Best Budget-friendly Things to do in Oxford, Mississippi (MS)
Oxford is a city in, and the county seat of, Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1837, it was named after the British university city of Oxford in hopes of having the state university located there, which it did successfully attract.
Restaurants in Oxford
1. Square Books
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 157 reviews
Square Books is a general independent bookstore in three separate buildings (about 100 feet apart) on the historic town square of Oxford, Mississippi, home of the University of Mississippi and many great writers, including William Faulkner, Barry Hannah, Larry Brown, and, for a time, both Willie Morris and John Grisham. The main store, Square Books, is in a two-story building with a cafe and balcony on the second floor; Off Square Books is a few doors down from the main store and has lifestyle sections such as gardening and cookbooks; and Square Books Jr, the children's bookstore, is in a building on the east side of the square. Our newest store, Rare Square Books, sells rare and collectible books and is above Square Books, Jr. Square Books is known for its strong selection of literary fiction, books on the American South and by Southern writers, a large inventory of reduced-price remainders, and its emphasis on books for children.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
My wife and I love to visit bookstores. Over the years, we have established some favorites, including any Barnes & Noble, Nelson's in Lexington, Virginia, Main Street Rare Books & Manuscripts in Galena, Illinois, Abraham Lincoln Bookstore in Chicago, Haslam's in St. Petersburg, Florida and Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi. Square Books is one of a kind. It gets bigger every time we visit. Today, it covers four stores on five floors in three buildings 100 feet apart on the historic Courthouse Square. Founded in 1979 in an upstairs location, it now encompasses 10,000 square feet, hosts 150 author events per year and features extensive literary fiction, southern fiction and history sections, a coffee bar, a children's section, books on travel, cooking, gardening, art, photography, fashion, games, etiquette, hobbies and collecting, also magazines, gifts, a section of bargain and used books and, last but certainly not least, a rare books inventory featuring collectible, vintage and first edition books that was introduced in 2019, on the 40th anniversary of the business. Square Books Jr. offers books for parents, babies and kids through the teen years, along with educational toys, puzzles and games. Square Books was named "Bookstore of the Year" in 2013 by Publishers Weekly. Perhaps the store's biggest distinction is derived from the many outstanding writers who have lived in Oxford, taught at the nearby University of Mississippi or visited the store over the years, including Barry Hannah, Larry Brown, Willie Morris and John Grisham. All of Oxford native and Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner's books still in print are sold at the store.Open 9 to 8 Monday through Saturday and 9 to 5 on Sunday, Square Books has four addresses--160, 129, 111 and 115 Courthouse Square. If you can't find what you are looking for at Square Books, it either is out of print or never was printed in the first place.
2. Square Books, Jr.
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 23 reviews
Reviewed By jrsmith8
This is one of my favorite shops in Oxford. There are books for children everywhere and clever gifts and odds n' ends for kids around every turn. My wife and I walked around the store twice, and even though we did not have a child with us, the kid inside of us had a wonderful and memorable time. This store is highly recommended for everyone, whether child or adult or somewhere in between.
3. Confederate Cemetery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 39 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
Just to the south of old Tad Smith Coliseum on the University of Mississippi campus in Oxford, within the shadows of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, is a modest walled lawn with a single monument at the center. This is the Confederate Cemetery, called "God's Little Acre," a lonely and solemn place where Confederate soldiers who died after the Battle of Shiloh in 1862 are buried. During the Civil War, the 13 buildings of Ole Miss were converted into hospitals for the wounded and the ones who died were buried on the property. But how many? At one time, the cemetery had individual markers but a groundskeeper removed them to mow the lawn and forgot where they belonged. According to records, up to 4,000 Confederate soldiers were treated at Ole Miss and over 700 were buried in the cemetery. To date, about 340 have been verified. Only one is a University Grey, a member of the regiment made up of Ole Miss students and alumni, a unit that was virtually whipped out at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.
4. Rowan Oak
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 309 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
This is the third time my wife and I have visited Rowan Oak, the home of Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner from the 1930s until his death in 1962. On two earlier occasions, we toured the Greek Revival house that was built in the 1840s and saw his typewriter and the famous outline of Faulkner's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Fable that is penciled in graphite and red on the plaster wall of his study. One former curator discovered several of Faulkner's original manuscripts hidden within the house. Many of Faulkner's works, along with his Nobel Prize medallion, are on display in the University of Mississippi's J.D. Williams Library. On our most recent visit, however, the house at 916 Old Taylor Road, a mile from the Ole Miss campus and historic Oxford Square, was closed for COVID. So we were limited to walking around the four landscaped acres surrounding the house, the alley of cedars that lines the driveway and the 29 acres of wooded property known as Bailey's Woods. Rowan Oak was designated a National Historic Landmark and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1968. The property, with an accompanying barn that Faulkner had converted from a log cabin, appears much as it did when Faulkner lived here.
5. University of Mississippi
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 347 reviews
Reviewed By FLYDL - Boston, United States
My daughter chose this university as her number one choice when she was still in grade school. At the time it was based on pictures she saw. When it came time to tour colleges, and we toured several, Ole Miss did not disappoint. The campus is absolutely stunning! Brimming with southern charm. My daughter fell in love with this school, as did we. Although far away from her home in Boston, our daughter could not imagine herself at another school. The city of Oxford is charming as well, yet numerous amenities are still at your fingertips.
6. Lamar Park
7. Historic Downtown Square
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 126 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
When you arrive at Historic Downtown Square in Oxford, Mississippi, you instantly understand why Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner was inspired to create Yoknapatawpha County. The Oxford Courthouse Square Historic District, with the Lafayette County Courthouse dating to 1871 dominating the square, is similar to dozens of squares in small towns throughout the South. Oxford Square, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, has been the cultural, political, commercial and economic hub of the city and the epicenter of its nightlife since Oxford was incorporated in 1837. Known locally as "the Square," it is located on South Lamar Boulevard, Jackson and Van Buren Streets only a short walk from the University of Mississippi campus. It features a variety of restaurants, bars, museums, art galleries, churches, clothing boutiques, coffee shops, book stores and specialty shops and is a popular place for locals, students and tourists to congregate, people watch and shop. Architecturally, the square is reflective of the city's existence in the Civil War with two-story brick and stucco walled buildings that include balconies and cast-iron columns. The current standing courthouse was built in 1871 after the original structure was destroyed by Union troops in 1864. A statue of Faulkner, Oxford's most distinguished citizen, stands before Oxford City Hall. Among the most notable attractions on the square are two widely acclaimed restaurants, City Grocery and Ajax Diner; Square Books, a bookstore that opened in 1979 and carries all of Faulkner's books still in print; and Neilson's Department Store, which opened in 1839 and is the South's oldest department store. Other attractions include The Frame Up, Blind Pig Pub, Oxford Grillhouse, Pink & Proper, Square Pizza, The Library sports bar, Bottletree Bakery, Lyric Theatre, Gus' Fried Chicken, Old Venice Pizza and Holli's Sweet Tooth. Oxford Square is unlike any other college town in the country.
