Atsion’s history began with iron when Charles Read purchased land there in 1765 and established an iron forge. The village’s most prosperous period began in 1824 when Samuel Richards purchased the property. Under his ownership, Atsion included the family’s mansion, a church, three sawmills, numerous worker dwellings, the company store, a furnace, a forge, a grist mill, and a workforce of over 120 men. After Richards' death in 1842 and the decline of the local iron industry, new owners sought ways to keep the village alive. A paper mill was built and later converted to a cotton mill. After a railroad line reached Atsion, attempts at real estate development were made but failed. Joseph Wharton purchased the property in 1892 to support his large farming and forestry enterprises. After his death in 1909, his heirs continued farming the land. The Wharton estate was sold to the State of New Jersey in 1954, and although the forges, mills, and workers are gone, some buildings remain from this once thriving village.
