St. Peter Church, Danbury (1875)

The Catholic parish of St. Peter’s in Danbury was established in 1851 at a time when many Catholic immigrants who were settling in the area. It was the first Catholic parish in northern Fairfield county and parishioners would walk ten miles from surrounding towns to attend Mass. For a few months in 1851 the parish held services in the court house, but soon acquired a former Universalist church building at the corner of Main and Wooster Streets. In the late 1850s, the parish purchased a lot on Main Street that included a former Congregational church, the church building itself being officially purchased in 1860. That church was renovated for Catholic services and used until a new church was completed. As described in James H. O’Donnell’s History of the Diocese of Hartford (1900) [St. Peter’s is now in the Diocese of Bridgeport]:

The Rev. Philip Sheridan followed Dr. [Ambrose] Manahan in 1865. Four years after his arrival he conceived the design of erecting a Gothic stone church which would not only be an architectural ornament to the town, but a temple worthy of the growing importance of the parish. To this end he removed the pastoral residence to the rear of the lot on the southwest corner of Main street, and on its site began the foundations of the new church. The soil here was sandy and humid, and great difficulty was experienced in securing a solid bed for the foundations. In some places the builders were obliged to grout to the depth of twenty-seven feet. The difficulties were overcome, however, but at an expenditure of nearly $4000. The corner-stone was laid on Sunday, August 28, 1870

Work on the church, designed in the Gothic Revival style by the architectural firm of Keely and Murphy, was delayed by the Panic of 1873, but the building, located at 119 Main Street, was dedicated on December 13, 1875.

Across Main Street from the church are three other parish buildings.

At 104 Main Street is the Richardsonian Romanesque style St. Peter Rectory (above), built in 1891 and designed by architect Walter Stickels.

At 98 Main Street is the Italianate style St. Peter School (above), built in 1885 with an addition constructed in 1909. It was the first Catholic school in the Danbury area. Originally staffed by the Sisters of Mercy, it is now completely staffed by lay teachers.

At 88 Main Street is the Renaissance Revival St. Peter Convent (above), built in 1895 as a residence for the sisters who taught at the school next door, but now used as an assisted living facility called Bishop Curtis Homes. The building was documented in the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS).