1960s Night Life In Oxford Was Bright

This photograph is taken by Steven Gates, facing North Lamar from the balcony of the Courthouse.
This is a busy night-time Oxford scene when there was actually all types of businesses on or near square besides restaurants and shops. In this view, the west side of N. Lamar shows the First National Bank in the bottom of Colonial Hotel.
Posey’s Drug Store is the next business north — then probably Jones Feed Store, Belk Ford, Avent’s Dairy and Kelly’s Service Station. Cost’s Dry Goods is on the east side of North Lamar. Then the old jail, the Old Bramlett Clinic house, and a service station at the corner of Jefferson & N. Lamar.

Margaret Gill of Oxford added her comment about Oxford in those days: “There was a Beauty Shop upstairs over Cost’s that my mom use to take me to for permanents when I was young. I was scared to death of the machine they had to hook to your hair. I remember crying and begging to not have to do that! LOL. I think the owner was Mrs. Mae Stephens, if I recall correctly.”
Wade hampton Sutherland adds: “In ’67-’68 I sold papers on the square. It had 1-way traffic then. The square is a round-a-bout. By international rules, it should always flow 1-way, counter-clockwise.”
Courtesy of John Cofield. John is a hottytoddy.com writer and one of Oxford’s leading folk historians. He is the son of renowned university photographer Jack Cofield. His grandfather, Col. J.R Cofield, was William Faulkner’s personal photographer and for decades was Ole Miss yearbook photographer. Cofield attended Ole Miss as well.
Contact John at Johnbcofield@gmail.com