Planning began in 1834 to erect an Episcopal chapel in Bethel. Dedicated to St. Thomas, the building was erected the following year on Center Street (now 95 Greenwood Avenue) and at the time was part of St. James’ Parish in Danbury. In 1909, the old white frame church was taken down to make way for a new edifice, built of stone that came from stone walls on outlying farms. Services were held on Christmas Day in the unfinished structure in 1909. The new St. Thomas Episcopal Church was dedicated a few weeks later, on January 16, 1910. Additions, which included a chapel, parish hall, kitchen and an upstairs caretaker’s apartment, were made in the 1970s.
Originally erected as a house, the building at 5 Gravel Street in Mystic has been the First Church of Christ Scientist since 1914. Various dates can be found for the construction of the original house. The church’s website states that it was built in 1782 by Josiah Kemp. The brochure “a Mystic Riverside Walking Adventure” indicates that the house was built by Capt. George Wolfe between 1815 and 1827. In the latter year, it was sold to his brother-in-law, Capt. William Kemp (1795-1840), who commanded sloops and schooners. The nomination for the Mystic River Historic District gives a date of 1820. Work began in 1918 to transform the building into a church and it was dedicated on August 30, 1919. A Sunday School and Child Care room were added in June 1962 and in 1975 the original dirt cellar, on the street level of the building, was converted into a Reading Room.
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, at 30 Prospect Street in New Hartford, was originally built as a Baptist Church in Barkhamsted. As related in the History of Litchfield County, Connecticut (1881):
In 1845—46 a Baptist Church and ecclesiastical society was organized in Pleasant Valley [in Barkhamsted], and a neat house of worship was erected. Rev. George B. Atwell became settled pastor in December, 1846, and Hart Doolittle was elected deacon. The church at this time numbered twenty-six. In 1847 the church gained accessions, and for several years continued to grow and prosper, although its membership never exceeded seventy-five. In 1858, Rev. J. J. Bronson succeeded Elder Atwell as pastor. In 1859 the members who resided in New Hartford formed a separate organization, known as a “Branch of the Pleasant Valley Baptist Church.” The original church, although reduced in numbers and strength, still retained its vitality, and Rev. T. Wrinkle succeeded to the pastorate, and was ordained in June, 1861. He remained but a few months, and the church was left without a pastor until 1865-66, when the remaining members united with the New Hartford branch, the house of worship was removed to that place, and the Baptist Church of Pleasant Valley became merged in that of New Hartford.
The church was moved from Pleasant Valley to New Hartford by being floated down the Farmington River. Its new location was on Holcomb Hill, on the east of the river. The commercial center of town would develop on the west side of the river. It was thought at the time that the East River Road, which ran by the church, would be extended, but instead the current Route 44, on the west side of the river, became the major thoroughfare through town. The Baptist church was acquired by the Lutheran church circa 1907.
Happy Easter!Sacred Heart Catholic Church, located at 66 Cottage Street in East Berlin, was erected in 1896-1897. At the time, the Catholic population of East Berlin was expanding rapidly, in large part owing to the growth of the Berlin Iron Bridge Company, which required an enlarged labor force. Land for the church was secured on August 12, 1896 for $400 and the cornerstone was laid by Bishop Michael Tierney on November 8, 1896. The plans were drawn by architect Joseph A. Jackson of Waterbury and the building contract was awarded to R.O. Clark of East Berlin. The project was warmly encouraged and supported by the Berlin Bridge Company, whose president, Charles M. Jarvis, contributed $300 toward the construction. The structure was completed at a cost of $7,300. Sacred Heart Church was dedicated on Sunday, May 30, 1897. The church became a full parish in 1967. On March 1, 2017, Sacred Heart Church merged with St. Paul Church in Kensington to form a new St. Paul’s Parish. (more…)
The first Mass said in Winsted, or, as it was then called, Clifton, was offered by the Rev. James Lynch, of Birmingham, in the west district school-house, in 1851, in the presence of about forty persons. An old resident, however, is authority for the statement that the first Mass was said in 1850 by a Father Tucker. One who was present at Father Lynch’s Mass, Mrs. Gabriel Grinnan, is still living, and has vivid recollections of the same. Mr. Peter Dardis came to Winsted in 1849. At that time, he says, there were about twelve Catholic families here. In 1851 land was purchased for a church. In 1852 the Rev. Thomas Quinn entered upon his duties as the first resident pastor of Winsted. Soon after his arrival he began the erection of the church, the corner-stone of which was laid in 1853. Until the church was ready for occupancy, divine services were held in Camp’s Hall. In 1853 Father Quinn was succeeded by the Rev. Philip Gillick, who came from the diocese of New York. He completed the church, in the basement of which he took up his residence.
Two later pastors served as chaplains in the Civil War:
Daniel Mullen was appointed pastor in 1860, but at the outbreak of the Civil War he resigned to accept the office of chaplain of the Ninth Connecticut Volunteers. “Father Mullen was a man of literary culture,” says the Annals of Winchester, “and earnest patriotism, who served at Baton Rouge and Chackaloo Station, La., and Deep Bottom, Va. He was compelled by ill health to resign on the 26th of August, 1862.” Father Mullen’s successor was the Rev. Philip Sheridan, who a few years later was followed by Rev. Father Leo da Saracena, O.S.F., who had taken Father Mullen’s place as chaplain of the Ninth Regiment.
Since that time, the parish has continued in the care of the Franciscan Friars of the Province of the Immaculate Conception, which began with a band of four friars from Italy who arrived in New York City in 1855. A monastery for the friars in Winsted was constructed in 1866. The cornerstone of the current St. Joseph Church was blessed on August 30, 1914 and the completed building, located at 31 Oak Street in Winsted, was dedicated on July 16, 1916. The 1853 church building was converted into a parish hall.
The parishes of the Catholic Diocese of Norwich were once (before 1953) part of the Diocese of Hartford. This included St. Andrew’s Parish in Colchester. According toThe History of the Diocese of Hartford, written by Rev. James H. O’Donnell and published in 1900, St. Andrew’s Parish then had “three out-missions,” one of which,
St. John’s church, Fitchville [a section of the town of Bozrah], was built by Rev. John Cooney in 1894, and is ten miles from the parochial residence. The population here also is chiefly Irish, and numbers 300 souls. They also receive every Sunday the benefits of the Holy Sacrifice. At the ceremony of laying the corner-stone of St. John’s, the Rev. Michael Sullivan preached the sermon. The church was dedicated by Bishop Tierney, the Rev. John Winters preaching the discourse.
The first Catholic Mass in New Hartford was celebrated in 1849 in a private home. Masses continued to be offered in various residences and rented halls, as well as the Brick Machine Shop, for the next two decades. During that time, the Catholic population of New Hartford grew as Irish and French–Canadians immigrants came to work in local cotton mills. Immaculate Conception Church, designed by noted architect Patrick C. Keely of New York, was dedicated on March 27, 1870. Immaculate Conception became a parish in 1881. Recently, Immaculate Conception Church, at 3 Church Street in New Hartford, was merged with Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, at 78 Litchfield Road in Harwinton, to form Our Lady of Hope Parish.
