Oxford Furnace, New Jersey facts for kids
|
Oxford Furnace
|
|
|
U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
|
Oxford Furnace in 2015
|
|
 Oxford Furnace
Location in Warren County, New Jersey
Oxford Furnace
Location in New Jersey
Oxford Furnace
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | Belvidere and Washington Avenues Oxford, New Jersey |
|---|---|
| Area | 0.6 acres (0.24 ha) |
| Part of | Oxford Industrial Historic District (ID91001471) |
| NRHP reference No. | 77000919 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
|
| Added to NRHP | July 6, 1977 |
| Designated CP | August 27, 1992 |
Oxford Furnace is a historic blast furnace on Washington Avenue, near the intersection with Belvidere Avenue, in Oxford, Oxford Township, Warren County, New Jersey. The furnace was built by Jonathan Robeson (c. 1695-1766) in 1741 and produced its first pig iron in 1743. The first practical use in the United States of hot blast furnace technology took place here in 1834. The furnace was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 6, 1977 for its significance in industry during the 19th century. It was later added as a contributing property to the Oxford Industrial Historic District on August 27, 1992.
History
Oxford Furnace was a furnace used for smelting iron located in Oxford Township, in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. Built in 1741, it was the third 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.
The furnace was built by Jonathan Robeson and Joseph Shippen, Jr., both of Philadelphia, and owned by the Shippen family who lived nearby in Shippen Manor. A grist mill was built adjacent to the furnace in 1813. In 1835, it was the site of America's first successful use of the hot blast, in which preheated air was blown into the furnace, cutting production time.
Oxford Furnace operated the longest of any of the colonial furnaces, not being "blown out" until 1884.
The nearby Methodist Church was built from the old grist mill in 1913. A restoration of the furnace occurred between 1997 and 2001.
Though worn down by time, much of the site still stands. Oxford Furnace is listed on the State and the National Register of Historic Places.
Notable People
- George M. Robeson (1829–1897), Union general during the Civil War, and then Secretary of the Navy during the Ulysses S. Grant presidency
