Oxford New Jersey

 July 14, 2023

On our way from Ocean City, New Jersey to Allentown PA for our Allegiant flight home we stopped by Oxford to see my grandparent's old home and their graves.  I hadn't been back to Oxford in forty-four years. 

A pleasant drive up the Garden State Parkway carried us north. Traffic really picked up as we approached the New York City area turning into bumper to bumper driving on I278 with lots of trucks for company. We turned onto Rt 31 from I78 for a lazy drive on a road shaded by lots of trees - green is the color of New Jersey out here.  After stopping in Washington for a late breakfast, we crossed over Oxford Mountain to 82 Church St, the old home of my grandparents. I was disappointed to find the house in such run-down condition. The screen porch where my grandfather like to sit was missing its screen. The house needs paint and the roof needs to be replaced. Many more trees shaded the backyard than I remembered. 

I remember the wall being much taller but then I was much shorter in 1952. Of course the railroad tracks across the street that I rail-walked with my grandmother in the fifties are long gone. The tracks ran up the mine that closed in the mid sixties.

We drove around the block and snapped a photo of the Presbyterian Church located behind the old house. When we were little, my grandmother encouraged my brother and me to ring the church's bells one weekday morning just for fun.  

Google Maps shows "Oxford Group of Mines" located on the right side of  Mine Hill Road but all we saw were thick woods all along the road. Actually, the mines are just some holes in the ground in the woods so there wasn't anything to see, from the car anyway.

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Hillside Cemetery is just a short drive away along Jonestown Road. The graves of my grandparents and Uncle Lawrence lie near the unpaved road that runs alongside the cemetery.

The American Legion added the flags and probably cleaned Laurence's grave marker (not shown). He served in the navy during World War II. 

We followed rural roads passing by small farms and well-appointed hillside homes and lots and lots of trees on our way to the Lehigh Airport. This part of New Jersey is so beautiful and tranquil, I wish we had more time to just explore the backroads. 

I forgot to mention - we enjoyed a late breakfast at the Washington Diner on our way to Oxford. 

Stopping By Oxford

Post Script - My grandfather worked for the Allan Wood Steel Company for fifty+ years starting at age thirteen. He transferred from Philadelphia to Oxford in the Depression to assume the position of office manager for the mine. See the AllenWood Steel Story written in 1959 for a description of the mine.  The company folded in the sixties.