Entry No. 80 — the New York City file — filed under: ruins
Staley Mine
Discovered in 1832 to supply the nearby Oxford Furnace, the Staley Mine (also known as the Straley Mine) was a prominent magnetite iron mine that was abandoned before 1868. Today, the site lies within the West Oxford Mountain Natural Resource Area, where hikers can find remnants of the operation, including an old railroad bed, a wooden cistern, and a small brick structure with a rusty bolted door. The historic mine shafts themselves remain in the woods, safely sealed and fenced off by the county.
The story
In the 1830s, Oxford was booming on magnetite ore. Workers carved the Staley Mine (sometimes recorded as the Straley Mine) directly into West Oxford Mountain in 1832 to feed the blast furnace down the hill. It was a brief, violent burst of extraction—by before 1868, the operation was picked clean, shuttered, and left to the mountain.
What makes Staley compelling today isn't just that it was abandoned over 150 years ago, but how much industrial debris the forest failed to digest. Rather than being leveled, the site was preserved inside the West Oxford Mountain Natural Resource Area. Follow the overgrown railroad grade through the trees and you'll run right into concrete industrial artifacts: a rotting wooden cistern, forgotten stone footings, and a squat brick building fitted with a rusted, bolted metal door. The county came through to cap and chain-link the vertical shafts, but everything else remains right where the miners dropped it.
What it's like
Park off Mine Hill Road and head into the public trails of the West Oxford Mountain Natural Resource Area. The walk is quiet and wooded, following narrow old cart lanes and flat rail beds until the ruins emerge from the underbrush. Late autumn or winter offers the clearest views of the brick structure and shaft fencing before brush obscures the stone foundations. Stick to the marked trails—the county chain-link around the shafts is there because 19th-century iron pits drop deep into unstable earth.
The move: Hike the scenic trails of the West Oxford Mountain Natural Resource Area to photograph the historic mining ruins and view the fenced-off mine shafts from a safe distance.
📍 Before you go The surrounding trails of the West Oxford Mountain Natural Resource Area are legally open to the public, but the actual historic mine shafts are dangerous and fenced off by the county.
- 📍 Oxford
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 27 Mine Hill Rd, Oxford, NJ 07863, USA
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current access before you go.
Pair it with
- Waterloo Mine — Continue your northern New Jersey iron crawl 13 miles east in Stanhope, where another 19th-century magnetite pit sits tucked into Allamuchy Mountain State Park.
- Andover Mine — Head northeast to explore one of Jersey's oldest colonial iron operations, which supplied heavy ordnance materials during the Revolutionary War.
- Boonton Iron Works Ruins — Trace where local raw magnetite eventually landed by walking through the massive 1830s riverfront processing ruins in Boonton.
Good to know
Can you go inside the mine shafts?
No. The historic shaft entrances are dangerous and strictly fenced off by the county. You can view the fenced openings safely from the public trail.
What specific ruins are visible at the site?
You can find an old railroad bed grade, a decaying wooden cistern, stone foundations, and a small brick utility structure with a heavy, rusted door.
Is visiting Staley Mine legal?
Yes. The surrounding trails are part of the public West Oxford Mountain Natural Resource Area, provided you stay outside the safety fencing.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: metrotrails.org · nj.gov · njskylands.com · dep.nj.gov
last checked: 2026-07-20