Oakland City: The Town the Post Office Had to Rename

Oakland City in Gibson County, Indiana, was platted in eighteen fifty-six. It was probably called Oakland for the oak trees on the town site. The name was later extended to Oakland City, and the Oakland City post office was established in eighteen sixty.

The name stuck. James Cockrum went on to be remembered as the father of Oakland City, the man who did more than anyone else to build the place. Today it is home to Oakland City University.