Oxford Township, New Jersey

Oxford Township is a township in Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 2,444, a decrease of 70 (−2.8%) from the 2010 census count of 2,514, which in turn reflected an increase of 207 (+9.0%) from the 2,307 counted in the 2000 census.

Oxford Township was formed from portions of Greenwich Township on May 30, 1754, while the area was still part of Sussex County. It was incorporated on February 21, 1798, as one of New Jersey's initial group of townships by an act of the New Jersey Legislature. Mansfield Township became part of the newly formed Warren County on November 20, 1824. Over the centuries since its creation, portions of the township were taken to form Knowlton Township (February 23, 1763), Franklin Township, Harmony Township and Hope Township (all on April 8, 1839), Belvidere (April 7, 1845) and White Township (April 9, 1913).

The origin of the name and the exact date of the township's creation is in dispute. One source says that the township was named for the University of Oxford in England, and was formed in either 1753 or 1755, but other sources claim that the township was named after an early settler named John Axford, who came to settle in the area with others between 1735 and 1739, and affirms that the township's creation was in 1755.

Oxford Furnace, constructed in 1741, was the third furnace in Colonial New Jersey and the first constructed at a site where iron ore was mined. Other furnaces used ore extracted from bogs in South Jersey, impure deposits called bog iron. Oxford Furnace operated the longest of any of the Colonial-era furnaces, not being "blown out" until 1884. 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. 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.