Hampton Furnace, Wharton State Forest, NJ
October 19, 2003

Hampton Furnace was begun in 1795 by Richard Stockton and Clayton Earl, who had a very strange name, and who also sold his share off rather quickly. After a series of sales, by 1779, two brothers, George and William Ashbridge, came into possestion of the furnace, who would operate it it jointly until 1810, when William would buy out his brother. Under the two brothers, products such as wagon axles, bar iron, sledge hammers, kettles, skillets, and hollow ware were made. In 1825, Hampton was sold off to Samuel Richards, who rebuilt the furnace and kept it as busy as it ever was. Although Samuel died in 1842, the furnace continued to operate until somewhere in the year 1851, when competition in Pennsylvania forced out most of the iron works in South Jersey.