A little bit of New Jersey history. The Oxford furnace was constructed in 1741 and was the third iron furnace in the state. The furnace was operational until 1884 when the inner wall suffered catastrophic damage. In the early 1800s this was the first furnace in the country to use hot blast technology. At its height this furnace was the center of activity in Oxford which was constructed around it linking iron mines and rolling mills to the furnace.