History
Oxford Furnace was the third charcoal furnace in
colonial New Jersey and the first constructed at a site where iron ore was mined. The first two furnaces (Tinton Falls and Mount Holly) extracted ore from bogs in
South Jersey, impure deposits called
bog iron. A
grist mill was built adjacent to the furnace in 1813. In 1834, Henry's assistant Selden T. Scranton took over the Furnace property. He married Henry's daughter, Jane Henry in 1839. Selden's brother, George W. Scranton, moved to Oxford in 1839 and later married Henry's other daughter, Jane Henry. The brothers bought the Henry & Jordan lease in 1840 and operated the furnace. Charles, another of the Scranton brothers, joined the family firm in 1844. The Scranton brothers also worked periodically at a furnace in "Slocum's Hollow" (now Scranton) in Pennsylvania. During this time, iron furnaces were changing to the use of coal as fuel (instead of wood and charcoal), and the brothers invested in railroads. Access to the anthracite coal from Pennsylvania and via the nearby Morris Canal enabled the Furnace to run. (see
Panic of 1873) Selden believed that Samuel Sloan, a New York politician, was to blame for the depression. Sloan learned about railroads from Commodore Vanderbilt and was recently made the president of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad. This rail line hauled about 60,000 tons of anthracite a year and delivered it to the Oxford Furnace. Selden attempted but failed to avoid bankruptcy in 1874, and by 1878, he tried to avoid losing his mines to foreclosure. Oxford Furnace operated the longest of any of the colonial furnaces, not being "blown out" until 1884. It was rendered unusable due to a failure of the inner wall above the
tuyere in the north tuyere arch (a large crack in the masonry occurred over time). William Henry died in 1878 and Eugene Henry in 1883. Charles, who was the more level-headed and kind of the family, died when he fell from a railroad car in 1887. Two years later, William Henry, Jr. and George's sold, William Henry Scranton, both died. A restoration of the furnace occurred between 1997 and 2001. ==Gallery==
Gallery
File:Oxford Furnace, view from southeast.jpg|Historic American Buildings Survey, Copy of an old print - Oxford Furnace, Oxford, Warren County, NJ (1936) File:Oxford Furnace, exterior north elevation.jpg|alt=Oxford Furnace North Elevation 10/14/1936|Historic American Buildings Survey R. Merritt Lacey, Photographer October 14, 1936 EXTERIOR - NORTH ELEVATION FROM OLD PRINT - Oxford Furnace, Oxford, Warren County, NJ File:Oxford Furnace, exterior north and west elevations.jpg|Historic American Buildings Survey R. Merritt Lacey, Photographer October 14, 1936 EXTERIOR - NORTH AND WEST ELEVATIONS FROM OLD PRINT - Oxford Furnace, Oxford, Warren County, NJ File:Oxford Furnace, exterior west and north elevations.jpg|Historic American Buildings Survey R. Merritt Lacey, Photographer October 14, 1936 EXTERIOR - WEST AND NORTH ELEVATIONS FROM OLD PRINT - Oxford Furnace, Oxford, Warren County, NJ File:Oxford Furnace, east elevation.jpg|Historic American Buildings Survey R. Merritt Lacey, Photographer October 14, 1936 EXTERIOR - EAST ELEVATION FROM OLD PRINT - Oxford Furnace, Oxford, Warren County, NJ File:Oxford Furnace 2.jpg|Historic American Buildings Survey R. Merritt Lacey, Photographer October 14, 1936 ENGINE HOUSE - EAST AND SOUTH ELEVATIONS FROM OLD PRINT - Oxford Furnace, Oxford, Warren County, NJ File:Oxford Furnace, Engine House, East elevation.jpg|Historic American Buildings Survey Nathaniel R. Ewan, Photographer July 30, 1936 ENGINE HOUSE - EAST ELEVATION - Oxford Furnace, Oxford, Warren County, NJ File:Oxford Furnace Stack, west elevation.jpg|Historic American Buildings Survey R. Merritt Lacey, Photographer October 14, 1936 FURNACE STACK WEST ELEVATION FROM OLD PRINT STRUCTURE SINCE REMOVED - Oxford Furnace, Oxford, Warren County, NJ File:Oxford Furnace, Bosh, west elevation.jpg|Historic American Buildings Survey Nathaniel R. Ewan, Photographer July 30, 1936 BOSH - WEST ELEVATION - Oxford Furnace, Oxford, Warren County, NJ File:Oxford Furnace, bosh, south elevation.jpg|Historic American Buildings Survey Nathaniel R. Ewan, Photographer July 30, 1936 BOSH - SOUTH ELEVATION - Oxford Furnace, Oxford, Warren County, NJ File:Oxford Furnace and Blowing House, NJ - south view.jpg|The furnace, on the left, and the engine (blowing) house, on the right File:Oxford Industrial Historic District, NJ - Furnace and Methodist Church.jpg|Oxford Furnace next to the Oxford Methodist Church (formerly the grist mill/granary) File:Fireback MET 101491.jpg|Fireplace fireback cast at Oxford Furnace, 1745–58 == Notable people ==