You can also go to the Oxford Town Hall Streams website at anytime where you will find see upcoming “Commissioner Meetings” scheduled and also be able to view past meetings beginning in September.

Talbot Works: May 2, 2024 – The Oxford Mews Project was honored with a 2024 Talbot County Community Impact Award for its revitalization of commercial property in Oxford. A Sweet Partnership Built in 1878, the two-story Mews building sits at the intersection of Morris and Market streets, anchoring the tiny downtown Oxford business district. Over the years, it has been home to a general store, an art gallery, a smokehouse, and a combination bike shop and gourmet market. At one point, the historic building was even slated to become a pizza parlor, but problems ensued, and the project faltered. The Oxford Mews soon fell into disrepair and sat empty before the Town Commissioners intervened. “When I first moved here with my wife in 2001, you could come in here and buy a bicycle tire, cocktail napkins, and a steak,” says current Oxford Commissioners President Tom Costigan. “It was looking rather forlorn until the whole process of the rejuvenation and the renovation of the building took place. And that’s what you see here today.” Long a member of the Historic District Commission, Costigan believes in the preservation of historic buildings, and he says the renovation is nothing short of “fantastic.” Not only does it house a key commercial business, but there also are two renovated apartments upstairs and two new apartments in a back addition. The project has breathed new life into the town’s core. In 2017, the Town of Oxford purchased the dilapidated property and used Town funds and grant money to stabilize the building. Town commissioners announced in 2021 that they had leased the building to Rich and Christine Leggett. The public-private partnership helping to make this project a reality was a victory for the town, for the business community, and for residents. The town’s beloved Scottish Highland Creamery was located on Tilghman Street at the time, and owners Christine and Rich Leggett had no plans to move—until the renovation of The Mews began. The couple had purchased another building in the center of town, across the street from The Mews, and founded the coffee shop Oxford Social after also purchasing the creamery from founders Susan and Victor Barlow. “We bought that building because we recognized we needed a way to expand our ice cream production capability,” Rich explains. “The Scottish Highland Creamery is a gathering place for the community in the summer, but there was nothing like that in the winter. That’s what the coffee shop turned out to be.” Looking at The Mews, day in and day out, fired the couple’s imaginations. Though Rich had enjoyed a long career in banking and finance, working on Wall Street and in both New York and London, his true dream was to own an ice cream business. “I stood there many days and looked across the street, and I saw this beautiful building that was sitting empty,” Rich says. “If you had called a Hollywood set designer and said, ‘Design me an ice cream parlor out of central casting,’ it would be this building.” Renovating The Oxford Mews turned into a COVID project for the Leggetts. “It was just a shell,” Rich says. “We had an aesthetic in mind. We wanted it to be somewhat like an old-fashioned ice cream parlor, and we really had a blank canvas to work with. We wanted it to feel a little bit nautical, a little bit old-fashioned. I think we were able to achieve that.” Ranked as one of the top small-batch ice cream parlors in the country by TripAdvisor, the Scottish Highland Creamery was known far and wide even before it moved to The Oxford Mews. The secret? “Everything’s made in small batches, one or two gallons at a time,” Rich explains. The creamery even has a budding wholesale business, with hand-packed quarts sold in markets and stores across the Eastern Shore. Before it was renovated, Costigan remembers walking past The Mews building and seeing empty plastic party glasses sitting on the table, left to decay. “It was as if somebody just locked the door and said, ‘Oxford, we’ll see you later,’” he says. “Fortunately, someone has now said ‘Oxford, I’m happy to come here and start a business.’ That’s what we have here today, and I think it’s been a great addition.” The Talbot County Business Appreciation Summit is hosted annually by the Talbot County Department of Economic Development and Tourism in partnership with the Talbot County Economic Development Commission. This year’s summit sponsors include Platinum Sponsor APG Chesapeake, Gold Sponsors BSC Group and Easton Utilities, and Silver Sponsors Shore United Bank and the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce. 

See all our winners on our YouTube Channel:  Talbot County Economic Development and Tourism

April 9, 2024 – Commission President Tom Costigan issued the Oath of Office to Vickie Sharp, the new Oxford Clerk-Treasurer