The grist mill was built in 1812 as part of the Oxford Furnace Complex in Oxford, an area heavily mined for iron with many iron furnaces withing a 30 mile radius.

The mill closed its operation in 1906, soon becoming the headquarters & storage for a plumbing contractor; but, in 1913, was converted into a beautiful church building.

The furnace was built in 1741 by Joseph Shippen, Jr. & Jonathan Robeson, an experience ironmaster, both of Philadelphia. The structure on the right is the engine house. The Oxford Furnace was operated the longest of any of the Colonial Furnaces, becoming known for also being the site of America's first successful "hot blast" in 1835. The hot blast sent pre-heated air into the furnace rather than unheated air by way of a bellows, as was done prior to this. This new procedure greatly cut production time. The furnace was "blown out", or supperheated to cause dammage to the furnace to render it inoperable, in 1884 prior to permanent shutdown.

It was converted into the majestic Colonial Methodist Church in 1913, one hundred years after being built. The belltower was extended upward from the area of the former catshead/sack hoist and three doors vertically up the middle of the front were removed in favor of beautiful stained-glass panels with an arch above.

The sign on the left front corner of the mill converted into a church. The sign was placed by the Warren County Cultural & Heritage Commission. The stone building on the left is the engine house of the furnace.

The structure in the photo is the 1850 Car Wheel Factory that produced train car wheels, specifically for bringing raw iron ore to the furnace and to ship the finished iron moldings & casts to other locations. Cannons were produced herefor the revolution and the civil uprising.

The Shippen Manor, built in 1753 by the furnace owners Joseph & William Shippen in the Georgian Style, has become the Shippen Manor Museum in 1995. The Manor, the Ironmaster's Mansion, once included 4,000 acres as part of the estate owned by Dr. William Shippen Sr. The furnace was sold to the Scranton Bros. in 1840, who ran it another 45 years, utilizing coal rather than charcoal for fuel. The Warren Pipe & Foundry Co. donated the furnace to the State of New Jersey in 1935, who later sold the property; mill, furnace and manor house(across Belvidere Ave. from the mill & furnace) to Warren County in 1984.