Changewater, New Jersey

Changewater is an unincorporated community located within Washington Township, in Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[2]

Changewater, New Jersey
Unincorporated community
Changewater United Methodist Church
Changewater United Methodist Church
Changewater is located in Warren County, New Jersey
Changewater
Changewater
Changewater's location in Warren County (Inset: Warren County in New Jersey)
Changewater is located in New Jersey
Changewater
Changewater
Changewater (New Jersey)
Changewater is located in the United States
Changewater
Changewater
Changewater (the United States)
Coordinates: 40°44′17″N 74°56′39″W
Country United States
State New Jersey
CountyWarren
TownshipWashington
Elevation
[1]
100 m (400 ft)
Time zoneUTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−04:00 (EDT)
ZIP code
07831
Area code908
GNIS feature ID875365[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
Remains of a trestle constructed by the Warren Railroad across the Musconetcong River at Changewater in 1856, part of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. A station was built nearby. Passenger service ended in 1926, and freight service stopped in 1958. The trestle was removed in 1959.[3]

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

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Changewater include:

References
  1. "Changewater". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. Locality Search, State of New Jersey. Accessed December 8, 2014.
  3. "Changewater". Washington Township. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  4. United States Postal Service (2012). "USPS - Look Up a ZIP Code". Retrieved February 15, 2012.
  5. "Postmaster Finder - Post Offices by ZIP Code". United States Postal Service. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  6. "Van Leer Papers".
  7. Hladik, L'Aura (2013). Ghosthunting New Jersey. Clerisy Press. pp. 77, 78. ISBN 9781578603268.
  8. 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."
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.