Zarephath, New Jersey

Zarephath, New Jersey
Pillar of Fire chapel in Zarephath, New Jersey
Pillar of Fire chapel in Zarephath, New Jersey
Zarephath is located in Somerset County, New Jersey
Zarephath
Zarephath
Location in Somerset County
Zarephath is located in New Jersey
Zarephath
Zarephath
Location in New Jersey
Zarephath is located in the United States
Zarephath
Zarephath
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 40°32′04″N 74°34′20″W / 40.534573°N 74.572191°W / 40.534573; -74.572191[1][2]
Country United States
State New Jersey
CountySomerset
TownshipFranklin
Area
 • Total0.44 sq mi (1.13 km2)
 • Land0.40 sq mi (1.04 km2)
 • Water0.03 sq mi (0.09 km2)  9.12%
Elevation75 ft (23 m)
Population
 • Total69
 • Density172.5/sq mi (66.6/km2)
Time zoneUTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code
08890[6]
Area code908
FIPS code34-83290[1][7][8][9]
GNIS feature ID02584041[1][10]

Zarephath (/ˈzærəˌfæθ/, ZARRA-fath) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) and located in Franklin Township, in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, about 15 mi (24 km) north of Princeton.[11][12][13] As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 69,[5] an increase of 32 (+86.5%) from the 37 enumerated at the 2010 census.[14]

It was the communal home of the Pillar of Fire Church, and was the worldwide headquarters of Pillar of Fire International, which comprises the church's college, Somerset Christian College, and radio station WAWZ-FM (the farm and publishing facilities have not been in operation since the late 1970s). It is named after Zarephath, the place in the Bible where the "widow woman" sustained the prophet Elijah. Zarephath was a group of buildings located between the Delaware and Raritan Canal and the Millstone River. Following the flooding in 2011 from Hurricane Irene, the College and all Pillar of Fire ministries were ordered to move out of this floodplain. The original campus has been slated for demolition and a new campus in Somerset was established.[15][16]

  1. ^ a b c Gazetteer of New Jersey Places, United States Census Bureau. Accessed July 21, 2016.
  2. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 4, 2014.
  3. ^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  4. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Zarephath Census Designated Place, Geographic Names Information System. Accessed June 27, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Look Up a ZIP Code for Zarephath, NJ, United States Postal Service. Accessed June 27, 2012.
  7. ^ U.S. Census website, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 4, 2014.
  8. ^ Geographic codes for New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed June 9, 2023.
  9. ^ Geographic Codes Lookup for New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed June 9, 2023.
  10. ^ US Board on Geographic Names, United States Geological Survey. Accessed September 4, 2014.
  11. ^ GCT-PH1 - Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County -- County Subdivision and Place from the 2010 Census Summary File 1 for Somerset County, New Jersey Archived 2020-02-12 at archive.today, United States Census Bureau. Accessed February 11, 2013.
  12. ^ 2006-2010 American Community Survey Geography for New Jersey, United States Census Bureau. Accessed February 11, 2013.
  13. ^ New Jersey: 2010 - Population and Housing Unit Counts - 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32), United States Census Bureau, August 2012. Accessed February 11, 2013.
  14. ^ DP-1 - Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data for Zarephath CDP, New Jersey Archived 2020-02-12 at archive.today, United States Census Bureau. Accessed June 278, 2012.
  15. ^ Campus Updates, Somerset Christian College, November 8, 2011, backed up by the Internet Archive as of February 6, 2012. Accessed February 8, 2020.
  16. ^ Heyboer, Kelly. "Somerset Christian College reborn as Pillar College after flood", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, July 28, 2013, updated March 30, 2019. Accessed February 8, 2020. "Nearly two years ago, hope for Somerset Christian College's future was literally floating away. Floodwaters from Tropical Storm Irene had swamped the private college’s campus in the Zarephath section of Franklin Township.... Two years later, the school has a new name — Pillar College — along with a new campus in Somerset, a thriving site in Newark and ambitious plans to expand into other parts of New Jersey. School officials say the storm may have been one of the best things to ever happen to one of the state’s smallest colleges."