Stabilization of Oxford Furnace (2001)

Beginning in 2001, Oxford Furnace underwent a 4-year stabilization project under a $315,000 grant from the New Jersey Historic Trust, with additional funding from the Warren County Freeholders.

Construction of this National Register site began in 1741 and the Furnace went into blast on March 9, 1743. The Oxford Furnace was the third furnace built in the colony of New Jersey. In 1884, the furnace was “blown-out” for the last time and had the distinction of operating longer than any other colonial iron furnace. Oxford’s longevity was due to the successful conversion from the burning of charcoal for fuel to the use of anthracite coal.

This county treasure was the site of an important “first” in iron history and technology: on May 24, 1835, William Henry achieved America’s first successful “hot blast.” Later owners of Oxford’s iron developed early uses of steam-heated blasts and turbo-power and mining businesses. The first step in the stabilization process was that of cleaning out the furnace bosh. The photographs below show the scaffolding atop the furnace, which was used to hoist the debris out of the bosh. The bosh is the main internal furnace cavity where charcoal (or later coal), limestone and iron ore were placed during furnace operation. Approximately 65 tons of sand, firebrick and stone were removed from the bosh. Most of this material fell down inside the furnace from the upper portion while it was idle and slowly deteriorating. This furnace has been idle since 1884. Some stabilization work was done in 1980 after a large portion of the furnace side collapsed.

The furnace hearth is located at the very bottom of the furnace where the molten iron accumulated. In 2001, the hearth was not excavated as it appeared to be intact.

There are three side openings, or Tuyeres (pronounced like “two years”), for blowing air into the furnace. A fourth opening, or the casting arch, used to remove molten iron and slag from the furnace. Two of the Tuyere openings are now open and contain no historic remains on the blowing apparatus. The third however may contain the nozzle used to inject this air into the furnace. As with the hearth, excavation of the Tuyeres and casting arch has not occurred.

Historic Preservation Consultant, Carla Cielo, and Industrial Archeologist, Victor Rolando aid the job contractor, DeGruchy. Both Carla and Victor feel this furnace is a very important one, because the bottom area of the furnace is intact and untouched since 1884. If future excavations of this site are to occur, and they are not planned for this time, it must be done carefully with plan and forethought. 

Archaeology at the Furnace (2002)

In an article in “The Furnace”, a news quarterly formerly issued by the Warren County Cultural and Heritage Commission in the Spring of 2002 (Vol. 12, No. 1), author Victor R. Rolando discussed the archaeology at the Furnace.

In 2002, two significant events occurred at the Furnace. The first involved removing decades of material and debris inside of the stack. Secondly, employing good preservation techniques to insure that the furnace will continue to stand.

According to Rolando, there were theories regarding where the debris came from and it appeared that after the 1980-81 internal repair of the shaft, “13 to 16 courses of cinder block were built to shore up the upper collapsed region of the stack.”  The first stonework began to fall apart for fifty years after it was “blasted out” in 1884. The stone arches in the ceilings of the archways, which are usually the weakest part of the structure, were beginning to loosen. As the ceilings began to collapse, the stones from above were exposed to the elements, were not supported, and fell. This created a larger opening with deeper voids than before. A major collapse occurred in the 1970s, just above the west-casting arch, which is the largest of the arches and most susceptible of the arches [1].

After the arch repairs were made in 1980 and debris was put back into the top of the stack. Trash that came from the repair masons included soda cups and cigarette butts and was on the top of the debris pile, meaning it was the most recent. Screen materials then filled eight 1-gallon trash bags, weighing a total of 55 pounds. This was stored at the Manor until it was processed later [2].

On 23 July 2001, a crew of three masons carefully filled buckets with this material, raised by ropes and pulleys, and sent down long, corrugated heavy-duty plastic tubes to the ground below. Larger materials, such as stones or larger firebricks, were carefully slide down a wood ramp to ground level [3].

Few artifacts made at the furnace or used to help it run were found during excavations. The tedious sorting of materials taken from about 5 tons of debris and sifted through a 4-inch mesh took time and included masonry conservators, students from Rutgers University and members of the former Warren County Cultural & Heritage Commission. The sorted debris included nails (cut and wire), bottle caps, broken glass, window glass, carbon batteries, ceramic shards, wire pieces, rusty nuts and bolts, as well as washers, and some bits of slag and anthracite. In addition, a toothbrush, plastic comb and numerous unidentified pieces of metal were also found in the debris [4].

By 1 Aug 2001, “the shaft had been cleared down to a layer of hard-packed material at the bottom that might be remnants of the final blast" [5]. In the early 2000s, it was unknown whether the original 1741 blast furnace still exists inside of the present stack. Over the years, some alterations had been made to the furnace increasing its size. The author does note that the original furnace was neither razed nor moved elsewhere [6].

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[1] Rolando, Victor R. “Archeology at Oxford Furnace.” “The Furnace”, News Quarterly of the Warren County Cultural and Heritage Commission. Vol. 12, No. 1. Oxford, N.J. Spring 2002, 2. Victor R. Rolando is an Industrial Archaeology Research Consultant from Bennington, VT at the time of the article. He was also the editor of the “Journal of Vermont Archaeology” and former president of the Vermont Archaeology Society. “The Furnace” is no longer in print.

[2] Rolando, 3.

[3] -----, 2.

[4] -----, 2, 4.

[5] -----, 3.

[6] -----, 3.