08/18/2026
"Old Furnace Tragedy of 1857"
This is according to the weekly bulletin of the Oxford 2nd Presbyterian Church of Oxford, No. 140, 6 Nov 1932.
George Whitfield Scranton (1811-1861), who along with Selden, his brother, took over the furnace operations after William Henry III returned to Pennsylvania in the late 1730s.
"A terrible accident occured at Oxford on Friday evening. The furnace had been stopped for some repairs about 15 hours. Gas had collected in the hearth and furnace during the stoppage, and when the blast was put on an explosion took place, which blew out the stopping in the front where the iron and cinders run out. The hearth was nearly full of iron. The iron and cinder was blown out with great force,f illing the asting house with liquid fire, and burning several men dreadfully. One man, David Reese, was burnt to death instantly. Two others died yesterday, and George Champion died last night. It is feared one more will die. Uncle Clarkes was burned some, and Mr. Grove also, but not seriously...The casting house burnt to the ground. The other buildings were saved."
Mr. George Humphrey, the compiler of the information, wrote an explantatory note, "I have been looking over some letters of Col. George W. Scranton, dated from 1843 to 1857 and encloses a copy of one written to his son James (who was then at school in Stamford, Conn.).
WCCHA: In the late 1830s, George moved to Slocum's Hollow, which was renamed Harrison by William Henry (for president William Henry Harrison), Scrantonia and later Scranton.
