Oxford, NJ 07863
908-453-3098
The township website provides municipal news, tax and utility information, forms, garbage and recycling schedules, land-use resources and community notices.
Warren County Community Guide
Oxford Township
Iron History · Furnace Lake · Shippen Manor
Oxford Township is one of Warren County's most distinctive historic communities, shaped by colonial ironmaking, the Oxford Furnace, Shippen Manor, mining, industry and a strong recreation identity centered on Oxford Furnace Lake.
Oxford's defining story: The township grew around an eighteenth-century iron furnace and later mining and foundry industries. Today the Oxford Furnace, Shippen Manor, the Oxford Industrial Historic District and Oxford Furnace Lake give the community an unusual blend of industrial history, museum programming and outdoor recreation.
1754Township formed from Greenwich Township
1741Oxford Furnace construction began
1743First pig iron produced
PreK–8Oxford Central School
9–12Warren Hills Regional High School
301 AcresHistoric Furnace Lake recreation property
Explore the Complete Oxford Township Guides
Use the dedicated pages for local businesses, dining, real estate, visiting, classifieds and employment.
Business & Shopping
Local services, retail, automotive, home services, healthcare, professional businesses and practical shopping resources.
Open Business & Shopping → Food & DrinkRestaurants, pizza, takeout, cafés, groceries and nearby dining choices serving Oxford Township.
Open Food & Drink → Real EstateHomes, taxes, zoning, utilities, flood review, schools, historic-property considerations and parcel resources.
Open Real Estate → Visiting & LodgingOxford Furnace, Shippen Manor, Furnace Lake, museums, outdoor recreation, nearby attractions and lodging.
Open Visiting & Lodging → ClassifiedsLocal items, yard sales, notices, pets, household goods and neighborhood marketplace categories.
Open Classifieds → JobsSchool, municipal, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, service and Warren County employment resources.
Open Jobs →About Oxford Township
Oxford is a compact Warren County township with an identity far larger than its size because of its central role in New Jersey's iron and mining history.
Industrial Village
Oxford developed around the furnace, mines, foundries, mills and worker housing that formed a company-town landscape over nearly two centuries.
Historic District
The Oxford Industrial Historic District preserves hundreds of buildings and sites connected to the township's iron, mining and transportation story.
Outdoor Recreation
Oxford Furnace Lake gives the township a second strong identity through swimming, paddling, boating, fishing, picnicking and seasonal family recreation.
Rural Warren County Setting
Beyond the historic village, Oxford includes wooded hills, recreation lands and easy connections to White, Mansfield, Liberty and Washington townships.
Local Government
Oxford Township is governed by a three-member Township Committee.
Oxford, NJ 07863
908-453-3098
The current Township Committee also includes Deputy Mayor Georgette Miller and Committee Member Linda Koufodontes.
Current township resources include a zoning permit application, zoning map, construction information and the 2024 Master Plan reexamination.
Oxford provides online tax and utility lookup, 2026 garbage and recycling information and other resident-service notices through its municipal website.
Education
Oxford operates one local school through Grade 8 and sends high-school students to Warren Hills Regional High School.
Oxford, NJ 07863
908-453-4101
Oxford Central serves preschool through Grade 8 and offers academic, arts, STEM, physical education, counseling and student-leadership programs in one local campus.
Washington, NJ 07882
908-689-3050
Oxford sends its high-school students to Warren Hills Regional High School on a tuition basis.
Important distinction: Oxford Central continues through Grade 8. Oxford is a Warren Hills high-school send/receive community for Grades 9–12 rather than a Warren Hills middle-school sending district.
History & Industrial Heritage
Oxford Township was formed from Greenwich Township on May 30, 1754 while the area was still part of Sussex County and was incorporated in 1798.
Construction began in 1741 and the furnace produced its first pig iron in 1743. It became one of colonial New Jersey's most important iron sites.
Oxford became nationally significant when William Henry achieved the first successful practical use of hot blast in the United States during the 1830s, greatly improving iron production efficiency.
The furnace remained in operation until 1884, outlasting the other colonial furnaces in New Jersey and anchoring generations of mining, foundry and industrial work.
The district preserves the broader company-town landscape surrounding the furnace, including industrial, residential, religious and commercial structures.
Township sources note competing explanations for the name Oxford, including a connection to Oxford University and an early settler named John Axford.
Oxford Furnace & Shippen Manor
These two county-owned historic sites form the heart of Oxford's public history program.
Oxford, NJ 07863
The surviving furnace stack and engine-house remains are part of the Warren County Parks System. The furnace exterior can be viewed while the site tells the story of colonial ironmaking and later industrial development.
Oxford, NJ 07863
908-453-4381
The restored eighteenth-century ironmaster's residence operates as a free seasonal museum with tours, exhibits and special programs.
The museum is open on the first and second Sundays from May through December, except holidays, generally from 1–4 p.m. on regular museum days.
The Shippen Manor site itself is part of the Warren County Parks System and is open daily for visitors to walk the grounds from dawn to dusk.
Parks, Lake & Recreation
Oxford's public recreation identity is dominated by Furnace Lake, with additional neighborhood and regional outdoor resources nearby.
The township's signature recreation property includes a public beach and lake used for swimming, boating, kayaking, canoeing, fishing and family outings. Electric motors only are permitted on boats.
Oxford is offering 2026 season passes, camp field-trip packages, pavilion rentals and grove rentals, with the main summer program running from mid-June into August.
Oxford also maintains smaller recreation spaces and athletic fields serving local youth and neighborhood activity.
Oxford, NJ 07863
908-637-9813
Current club facilities support shooting-sports programs and organized events. Some competitive matches are open to the public under club rules.
2026 Community & Heritage Events
Oxford's event calendar combines lake recreation with Warren County history programming at Shippen Manor.
Seasonal community fishing event at Oxford Furnace Lake.
Township lake event tied to the 2026 Furnace Lake recreation season.
Shippen Manor's Labor Day programming features special exhibits and displays focused on Oxford's industrial workforce.
Additional first-and-second-Sunday museum programming continues into the fall season.
Community Organizations
Shongum Sportsmen's Association
Long-running Oxford-based sportsmen's organization with rifle, pistol and competitive shooting programs.
Shippen Manor Volunteers
Warren County recruits greeters, docents and special-event volunteers to help keep Oxford's historic museum programming active.
Oxford Central School Community
The school provides student leadership, family events, Board of Education meetings and local programs that function as an important community hub.
Places of Worship & Religious Community
Oxford's religious history is intertwined with its industrial village history, and several active faith communities remain.
Oxford, NJ 07863
The current church occupies the historic 1813 grist-mill site, converted for church use in the early twentieth century.
Oxford, NJ 07863
908-453-3886
Current religious community and chapel in Oxford.
St. Rose remains part of Oxford's Catholic community, with current parish activity associated with the Oxford area.
Historic church note: Oxford Second Presbyterian Church remains an important historic property in the Oxford Industrial Historic District, but the congregation held its final service in August 2021 and should not be presented as an active worship congregation.
Official & Community Resources
Oxford Township
Municipal news, tax and utility information, forms, zoning, garbage and recycling schedules and township contacts.
Oxford Central School
Preschool–Grade 8 academics, calendars, Board of Education resources and student programs.
Warren Hills Regional High School
Grades 9–12 academics, registration, athletics, calendars and high-school resources for Oxford students.
Warren County Cultural & Heritage
Shippen Manor, Oxford Furnace, museum programming, history resources and accessibility information.
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