When it comes to historical areas of Lafayette County, Brittany Woods is fairly new.

The area just outside the Oxford city limits on County Road 280, which runs virtually parallel with Highway 6, was developed in the 1970s, according to county supervisor Jeff Busby whose district includes Brittany Woods.

Busby said in the late ’70s and early ’80s the developer of the Brittany Woods subdivision, “went broke and started selling lots cheap.” That gave more people the opportunity to build a nice home in Oxford, and many black residents purchased lots and built homes.

Changes come

Since then, the subdivision was built in two phases and is mostly single-family homes.

The Brittany Apartments, located behind the subdivision, were created after the homes and some say changed the feel of the neighborhood and disrupted their way of life since apartment residents must drive through the subdivision in order to get to their complex.

Deborah Hodges bought a piece of land in Brittany Woods and had her home built in 1984. She said several white families moved out of the neighborhood in the 1980s when two more black families bought property and had homes built.

“People just didn’t understand,” Hodges said.

She said there’s just one white family still in the neighborhood.

“They’re good people and involved in the neighborhood,” Hodges said. “The rest either died or moved out.”

Hodges helped form the homeowners association in 2007, which developed some rules, installed speed bumps and “a little law” in the neighborhood.

Now retired, Hodges enjoys “putting my feet up” and enjoying life.

“It’s a great little neighborhood and I enjoy it,” Hodges said. “My home is paid for. It’s home and we’re great out here. Nice people live here.”

Peaceful area

Gwen King, a resident of Brittany Woods for 29 years, agrees with Hodges. King and her husband Luster raised three children in the neighborhood they still call home.

“We have no plans to move since our home is paid for,” King said. “We love it here. The people are friendly. We’ve never had any trouble. They respect us and keep their area clean and we keep our area clean. It’s a nice neighborhood.”

King, who works for the Oxford Police Department, acknowledges the neighborhood may have a bad reputation but that’s not really the case.

“Everyone kind of fears Brittany Woods, but working here at the OPD and knowing where the officers go …” danger can be anywhere, King said.

King said she doesn’t do their yard work. “My husband does that. We have an agreement,” King said. “I do the inside, cook and clean, and he does the outside.”

She doesn’t have many hobbies, but enjoys her three grandchildren when they come to visit, while her husband, the warehouse manager for the Oxford Electric Department, enjoys fishing.

They both wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

“It’s a really nice neighborhood,” King said. “There are some good people out here.”