Christ Church Tashua (1846)

Christ Church, the Episcopal parish in the Tashua area of Trumbull, was organized about 1760, by which time the residents had built a small wooden church. The parish began as a mission of Christ Church in Statford, the oldest Episcopal parish in Connecticut. In 1788, the parish voted to build a new church by subscription. As described in Vol. 2 of Samuel Orcutt’s A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City Bridgeport (1886), the church was proportioned

not to exceed 50 feet in length, and 34 in breadth, and 24 in height. Also to be 24 windows in said church, of six-by-eight glass, thirty panes in each window, exclusive of the arch. This edifice was located, apparently, on the north side of the highway, where it remained until the present one was erected. The same year it was voted to call the parish Trinity Church, and by that name it was known in the records for many years. In June, 1790, the church was so far advanced that by vote of the parish the pew spots were sold at public veendue, the buyers being obligated to pay the prices bid and build the pews in one year from the time of purchase. The pews were to be in uniform style, as they were in the North Fairfield meeting house. The purchase money was applied towards the expense of building the church. The pew spots, except two, were sold for $310.66. The square pews were sixteen in number, being the wall pews round the building. The chancel was on the north side, and there was a door in the opposite side and one also at the east and west ends. In the body of church there were long, open seats free to all. A tower and spire were built at the west entrance in 1823.

The erection of the current church was begun in 1846 and the building was consecrated on May 28, 1847. While there have been additions, the church remains an excellent and very well preserved example of the Carpenter Gothic style.

Trumbull Congregational Church (1899)

The Congregational Church in Trumbull was first established in 1730. Services were initially held at Pulpit Rock on White Plains Road. The first meeting house was built on the corner of White Plains Road and Unity Road. The congregation’s second meeting house was built in 1747 on what is now Church Hill Road, just west of where the Helen Plumb Building would be built in 1883. Over the years, the expanding road moved closer to the church and many a horse and wagon, coming down the hill on icy days, collided with the corner of the building. In 1842 a new church was erected on the same site, but located further back toward the Pequonnock River. A fire destroyed this building in 1898. The cornerstone for the current church, built at a new location at 3115 Reservoir Avenue, was laid on September 28, 1898 and the building was dedicated on on May 11, 1899. The church was constructed of stone quarried north of Beardsley Park.

Helen Plumb Building (1883)

From 1883 to 1957, the building at 571 Church Hill Road in Trumbull served as the Town Hall. It was Trumbull’s second Town Hall. The first Town Hall, purchased by the Town of Trumbull in 1862, was a building on Daniels Farm Road, formerly known as Beach’s Tavern. Some years ago the old second Town Hall building on Church Hill Road was renovated and it is now used by the Trumbull Chamber of Commerce. The building is named for Helen E. Plumb (1904-2001), who was town clerk in Trumbull for many years. (more…)

Elliot B. Plumb House (1860)

A plaque on the house at 1885 Huntington Turnpike in Trumbull indicates it was built in 1860 and was the home of Elliot B. Plumb.

The only references I can find relating to Elliot B. Plumb relate to the following, as reported in the Journal of the Senate of the State of Connecticut for 1887:

Senate Resolution No. 92. Senator Hill of the Thirteenth District, introduced a resolution appointing Charles Beard of Huntington, and Elliot B. Plumb of Trumbull, Commissioners of the Wells Hollow Turnpike for two years from July 1, 1887.

The resolution was passed.

Senate Resolution No. 93. Senator Hill of the Thirteenth District, introduced a resolution appointing Charles Beard of Huntington, and Elliot B. Plumb of Trumbull, Commissioners of the Huntington Turnpike for two years from July 1, 1887.

The resolution was passed.

Hezekiah Nichols House (1810)

Interestingly, the house at 1810 Huntington Turnpike in Trumbull was built in 1810. A sign on the house indicates it was the home of Hezekiah Nichols. The Nichols family gave their name to the village where the house is located. The name on the sign may refer to the Hezekiah Nichols (1781-1835) who is mentioned in the Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut (1899):

Hezekiah Nichols of Nichols, a son of Andrew Nichols, Esq., succeeded to the homestead and a goodly portion of the estate of Nichols. He was related to the Rev. James Nichols, the last Episcopal clergyman who went to Scotland for ordination, and to the first ordained in America — Rev. Philo Shelton.

His first wife, Prudence Polly Shelton, was his cousin and a cousin of Rev. Shelton. As related in Part II of Rev. Samuel Orcutt’s A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City Bridgeport, Connecticut (1886):

Hezekiah Nichols became a member of the Congregational Church of Trumbull, but his second wife, Avis Peet, retained for many years her fondness for the Episcopal Church, in which she was born and reared, and the Rev. Mr. Rutledge, rector of Christ Church, Stratford, held mission services in the “north and south rooms” of Hezekiah Nichols’ house at Nichols’ Farms, which aided in preparing the way for the present Trinity parish of that place.

[. . . .] At the time of Mr. Nichols’ death his estate, in addition to tracts of land in Stratford and Huntington, extended from Huntington turnpike to Bear swamp road, a distance of nearly a mile. The greater portion of his lands at Nichols’ Farms is now in possession of his eldest son, William Grandison Nichols.