First Church of Christ, Wethersfield (1761)

Built in Wethersfield in 1761-1764, the First Church of Christ was the town’s third Meeting House. Designed in the Georgian style, it is a rare survival of a brick colonial meeting house. The steeple was most likely modeled on that of an Episcopal church, Trinity Church in Newport, R.I., which was in turn modeled on Christ Church in Boston. George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau attended services here on May 20, 1781, during the period they were holding their important meetings in the nearby Webb House. In 1774, John Adams, who was visiting Silas Deane, wrote in his diary:

“We went up the steeple of Wethersfield meeting-house, from whence is the most grand and beautiful prospect in the world, at least that I ever saw.”