Presently in the 21st century this quaint community in and around the borough of
The area which is now Wharton was a peaceful settlement in the mid 1700s, shared by some 20 families and members of the Lenni Lenape tribe until the Lenapes began migrating west after they relinquished their lands by treaty. In 1831, the Morris Canal was opened from the Delaware River to the Passaic River, passing right through the center of the little village which would become Port Oram. Josiah Ford, John Hance, and Robert Oram Jr. were enterprising businessmen who built the first furnaces and forges to process ore which was mined in the area.
The following years were exciting ones for the village, as it became a cog in the wheel of the New Jersey industrial iron era. Work was available; workers were needed; and workers came. They came from the cities and they came from Europe-- Cornwall, Wales, Ireland and Hungary, as well as other Eastern European countries. They worked hard, and they saved their money to build their houses and bring their families to the village. Many of the migrants found their own comfort zones in where they chose to live, some Welsh and Cornish settled in what became known as Luxemburg, the Hungarian and Eastern European migrants settled in Irondale and the Irish settled in the St. Marys section of Port Oram. The largest member group formed a town on June 28, 1895, consisting of voters from the settlements of Port Oram, Irondale, Luxemburg, Maryville, and Mount Pleasant. These votes covered 2.25 miles of New Jersey. In 1831 the Morris Canal was completed and along it's way to Boonton and Dover from Phillipsburg it touched Morris County, and that's where Wharton was. Joseph Wharton (1826-1909), who belonged to an old Quaker family, first studied at a local school and could not proceed further with college due to health reasons. Alhough he was sent to the farm to recover, he pursued his chemistry knowledge at the laboratory of Martin Boye in Philedelphia. In 1884, the Ross and Baker Mfg. Company opened a factory by the dam of the Washington Forge Pond, and owner Edwin J. Ross, a Presbyterian, would play a significant part in the birth of the Luxemburg Presbyterian Church some years later. Randolph Townships petitioned to incorporate under the name of Port Oram. However, in gratitude to Joseph Wharton who had helped bring about economic success in the town with the Wharton Furnace, the name of the Borough of Port Oram was officially changed to the Borough of Wharton on May 14, 1902.
History of the St. Johns Methodist Church
Methodism in Wharton originated when Cornish and Welsh miners came to work in the iron mines, when the general area was known as Irondale. The village took the name of Port Oram upon the completion of the
History of the Luxemburg Presbyterian Church
In November 1900, a small group of Christians who desired to gather together as Presbyterians met in a private home at 3 East Dewey Avenue, and on May 19, 1901, formally organized as the Luxemburg Presbyterian Church of Port Oram. In a matter of six months this determined and dedicated group of Christians made the decision to build a chapel on property dedicated by Edwin Ross and located on Main Street which overlooked the Washington Pond until the Castner building was erected next door about 1912. The location overlooking the
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