Throughout its history, Byram Township has thrived upon its rich natural resources. Farmers worked its fertile soil and industrialists exploited the area's rolling hills—thickly forested and full of iron ore—long before Pennsylvania became the capital of the United States steel industry. Byram Township, however, is perhaps best known for its many lakes and ponds, which have spurred the community's industries, transportation, and recreation. During the nineteenth century, the township's rivers and lakes helped to form the Morris Canal, a man-made water highway for the transportation of cargo from Phillipsburg to Jersey City. Once a stop along the Morris Canal, Waterloo is now a historical attraction and a living testament to how Byram Township residents once lived and worked along the canal.