Summary
Changewater is an unincorporated community located within Washington Township, in Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[2]
Changewater, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
 Changewater United Methodist Church | |
  Changewater Changewater's location in Warren County (Inset: Warren County in New Jersey)  Changewater Changewater (New Jersey)  Changewater Changewater (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 40°44′17″N 74°56′39″W / 40.73806°N 74.94417°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  New Jersey |
| County | Warren |
| Township | Washington |
| Elevation | 100 m (400 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 07831 |
| Area code | 908 |
| GNIS feature ID | 875365[1] |
Changewater is located on the Musconetcong River 2.3 miles (3.7 km) southeast of Washington. The community was named for its location at the confluence of the upper and lower branches of the river.[3]
Changewater has a post office with ZIP code 07831, which opened on September 26, 1859.[4][5]
History edit
One of the early iron furnaces in the county—known as the Changewater Forge—was established here in the mid-1700s by Mark Thomson [3] and later purchased by a well known local Van Leer family. Ledgers show Samuel Van Leer's sons B. Van Leer and Isaac Van Leer owning the property in the early 1800s.[6]
In 1843, members of a local family—the Castner's—were murdered during an apparent robbery. The crime attracted widespread publicity, and in 1845, two men were convicted and hanged at the Warren County Court House.[3][7]
During the 1800s, a number of industries were attempted in Changewater, including a tannery, woolen factory, flouring mill, picture frame factory, snuff factory, and distillery.[3]
In 1874, the village consisted of a looking glass and picture framing factory, a store and post office, a grist mill, and eight residences.[3]
By 1918, Changewater had a population of 200, and the A. T. Skerry woolen mill was its only industry.[3]
Notable people edit
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Changewater include:
- Mark Thomson (1739–1803), politician who served as a United States representative from New Jersey[8]
References edit
- ^ a b "Changewater". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ Locality Search, State of New Jersey. Accessed December 8, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Changewater". Washington Township. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
- ^ United States Postal Service (2012). "USPS - Look Up a ZIP Code". Retrieved February 15, 2012.
- ^ "Postmaster Finder - Post Offices by ZIP Code". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
- ^ "Van Leer Papers".
- ^ Hladik, L'Aura (2013). Ghosthunting New Jersey. Clerisy Press. pp. 77, 78. ISBN 9781578603268.
- ^ Lee, Francis Bazley. Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey, p. 345. Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1910. Accessed May 7, 2023. "Colonel Mark Thomson the first member the family of whom we have definite information settled first in Changewater and then in Marksboro, Sussex (now Warren county), New Jersey the latter of which places was named in his honor."