First Congregational Church of East Hartford and Parsonage

About this property

The First Congregational Church of East Hartford and Parsonage is a historic church at 829-837 Main Street in East Hartford, Connecticut. The congregation was founded around 1699 and the current church building was constructed around 1833. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The congregation is currently affiliated with the United Church of Christ. First Congregational Church of East Hartford was founded somewhere between 1699 and 1701. The original members used to have to travel across the Connecticut River to Central Church in Hartford. The weekly quest began to take a toll on its traveling members, who decided to start their own church on the eastern side of the river. The building was completed in 1699, and the members began worshiping here, but had to gain religious approval by the King of England. The church received their anticipated approval in 1701, when the church officially gained its status as a recognized church. The church's first meeting house was actually built down the street from its current residence. There is now a large stone on the corner of Pitkin Street and Main Street marking the site of the first meeting house, which burned in the late 18th century. After the fire, the building was resurrected at its current site, on the corner of Main Street and Connecticut Boulevard. Then, in 1834, there was a second fire. Luckily, the building was not lost in this blaze. In 1835, the church was rebuilt, using charred timbers from its predecessor, which can still be seen in the church's attic). The organ in the sanctuary was originally built into the balcony to look out over the congregation on Sunday mornings. In 1952, the organ was moved down to the front of the sanctuary. The sanctuary itself was remodeled around the same time, turning its four aisles to just three. The parsonage, next door to the church, was constructed in 1850, and served as the residence of the minister of the church, Rev. Woodward. The later-named Woodward house served in the capacity until the mid-20th century, when it was turned into an extra meeting place for the church's many groups and boards. Soon thereafter, daycare was held in the parsonage during the church services. Then in the early 1990s, the church's sexton was given the opportunity to live in part of the parsonage, as the front area was turned into offices. These offices were, in turn, rented out to various organizations, such as Esperanza Nueva Iglesia and the YWCA of East Hartford. The parsonage has also been the site of a few community service projects, including the rebuilding of the front steps and railings in a Boy Scout Eagle Project in 2004.

Location

Categories

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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