The Boonton Iron Works were founded about 1770 by Samuel Ogden of Newark, New Jersey. Together with brothers, he purchased a tract along the Rockaway River. Throughout the American Revolutionary War, the Booneton Iron Works was busily engaged in supplying numerous miscellaneous iron products for the military. After the war, operations at Boonton were continued under John Jacob Faesch and his two sons, and, later, by William Scott. He tried to revive the declining business. In 1824, Scott's interest in rejuvenating the antiquated ironworks faded when he learned that the Morris Canal was soon to be constructed, and that it would bypass the community of Booneton a mile or more away.