USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > West Haven > History of West Haven, Connecticut > Part 9
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Jonathan Arnold, the second minister, ordained in 1725, was active in in- creasing the membership of the church. During his pastorate, it became neces- sary to enlarge the seating facilities, and, in 1729, galleries were constructed at the sides and rear of the meetinghouse. In 1734, Arnold, like his predecessor, turned to the Episcopal doctrine. The church was without a pastor until 1738, when the Reverend Timothy Allen was ordained. But he, too, later professed
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his sympathy for the cause of the Episcopal Church and was relieved of his duties in 1742.
The Reverend Nathan Birdseye officiated as pastor from 1742 until 1758. He was followed in 1760 by the Reverend Noah Williston, who continued to serve the church over a long and eventful period. In 1752, the meetinghouse needed repairs, and it was necessary to levy a special tax. In 1764, the structure was adorned by the addition of a steeple, where a bell was hung in 1774.
During the British raid of 1779, the British attempted to capture Mr. Willis- ton, because of his staunch views on freedom from English jurisdiction. In his effort to escape, he fell and broke his leg, while running toward the woods at the rear of his house. Undoubtedly, he would have paid for his patriotism with his life, had it not been for the mercy of Adjutant Campbell, the British officer in charge of that particular body of troops, who spared Williston's life and ordered a British surgeon to set the broken leg. Adjutant Campbell went on to meet his own death during the fighting at West River bridge. A monu- ment to his memory stands on the crest of Allingtown Hill.
During the Revolutionary War, the original church fund was lost, and once more the members tried to raise funds for the maintenance of the church. Two funds were started, by subscription, in 1801; one as a "Salary Fund", amount- ing to 770 pounds; the other a "Standing Fund", amounting to 232 pounds, es- tablished as a reserve. In 1806, a few building improvements were necessary, and a small amount of money was voted for the erection of horse sheds behind the church. In 1825, when the Eagle Bank of New Haven failed, the church lost $2,900. By 1837, the church funds totaled $6,000; the society owned the church, a parsonage, and about five acres of land.
The first meetinghouse was used for 134 years. In 1851, a second edifice was constructed, at a cost of $4,500. Captain Ichabod Smith bequeathed $200 for the purchase of instruments to improve the church music, in 1851. A small portable organ or melodeon was obtained and was among the furnishings rescued from the fire that destroyed the building in 1859. In 1860, the present church on the Green was erected at an approximate cost of $10,000.
In 1867, a pipe organ was installed in the back gallery. The interior of the church was remodeled in 1891, and an organ alcove was built at the back of the pulpit platform. The okl organ was replaced in 1898, by one from St. Paul's Church, New Haven, at a cost of $975.
In 1915, a three-story, red-brick addition was completed, facing on Camp- bell Avenue, to serve as a Sunday school and for recreational purposes. The third floor of this structure is given over to a gymnasium, complete with locker rooms and showers.
In 1919, at the two-hundredth anniversary of the founding of the church, $9,700 was raised for the purchase of a new instrument. The new organ was dedicated to the memory of the "Sons of the Church" who served during the World War.
Present membership of the church, whose pastor is the Reverend Dr. Roy D. Boaz, approximates 1500, and the Sunday school enrollment is about 700.
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UNION CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
In 1890, a group of Allingtown residents, organized for religious services under the direction of Mr. Samuel P. Thrasher, erected a small church, the Gos- pel Union Chapel, on Campbell Avenue near Orange Avenue. At the dedica- tion on Sunday, December 7, 1890, the Reverend Dr. Twitchell of Dwight Place Congregational Church, New Haven, and other prominent clergy, officiated. At the conclusion of the dedication ceremonies, it was announced that the chapel was free from debt.
Until 1918, Sunday school and evening devotions were conducted by Yale Divinity School students. . On April 18, 1918, the edifice was renamed the Union Congregational Church, and the Reverend Archibald Bedford was appointed the pastor. At that time, a Sunday service at 10:45 A. M. was established.
In 1922, the church was enlarged to its present size, a one-story, white, wooden building. In 1930, the Reverend Mr. White was succeeded by the Rev- erend Leroy S. Allen, who served the church until 1935, when the Reverend Dwight S. Large received a call as pastor. Mr. Large remained one year; in October, 1936, the present pastor, the Reverend Harold L. Lunger, came to the church. In the event of the pastor's absence services are conducted by his wife, the Reverend Alberta Lunger.
CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
The founding of the Episcopal church in West Haven in 1723, and the building of the church in 1739-40, were events of far-reaching importance. Throughout the Connecticut Colony, the Congregational church opposed the in- filtration of Episcopalianism, suspicious that the church might seek to become established here as in England. When announcement was made at Yale Com- mencement in September, 1722, that the college president, Dr. Timothy Cutler, with Samuel Johnson, pastor of the West Haven Congregational Church, and five prominent associates, had declared for the Church of England, the equanim- ity of the entire Colony was shaken. In Quincy's history of Harvard University, he writes, "The event shook Congregationalism throughout New England like an earthquake, and filled all its friends with terror and apprehension."
Johnson sailed for England where he was ordained in 1723, at the church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London. When he returned, he organized the West Haven parish, the second in the State. For many years thereafter, the New Haven Episcopalians, having no church of their own, attended service in West Haven. Mr. Johnson was rector of the church until 1737, when he was suc- ceeded by the Reverend Jonathan Arnold. Mr. Arnold also had previously been a pastor of the Congregational Church in West Haven but had since embraced the Episcopal faith, in which he was ordained in 1736. In 1737, he was ap- pointed a missionary by the "Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts" and was given charge of the parishes of West Haven, Derby, and Water- bury. Under his direction, the building of the church was begun.
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In 1740, the Reverend Theophilus Morris, formerly of England, assumed charge of the same three parishes. Although the church edifice was completed in 1740, it was not consecrated until May, 1842, more than a hundred years later.
On Easter Day, 1827, the Reverend William T. Potter became rector of the parishes of West Haven, North Haven, and East Haven, with 140 families and 96 communicants under his charge. During the pastorate of Mr. Potter, many members of the church moved from West Haven, and, by 1830, there were only 42 families in the parish and 58 communicants. Many of those who remained were seamen who were seldom at home, and the rest, becoming dis- couraged, dismissed Mr. Potter on Easter, 1830, and closed the church.
Services were resumed in 1837, when the Reverend Stephen Jewett of New Haven was engaged to devote half his time to the West Haven parish. Until 1845, the West Haven parish shared its minister at various times with New Haven, North Haven, East Haven, Branford, and Milford; in that year, the Reverend A. C. Chaplin became the first full time rector of Christ Church. From 1839 to 1845, Mr. Chaplin had lived in New Haven, dividing his time between that parish and West Haven.
In 1840, under his leadership, $960 was collected to repair the old church, which, according to his report, had "dilapidated walls and broken windows and decaying floors." The church was reopened on June 27, 1841, and in May, of the following year, it was at last consecrated.
During the pastorate of the Reverend H. B. Whitney (1886-1895), many improvements were made. The church was redecorated, the heating and light- ing system improved, a new organ was installed, and a new rectory acquired, but in spite of these many improvements, the old building was inadequate, and the need of a new one became more pressing.
After the Reverend A. J. Gammack became rector in 1900, the movement for the building of a new church was given impetus by Mrs. Lucy Boardman, who offered a gift of $25,000 for that purpose, on the condition that the parish raise a like amount. Starting with a building fund collected during the rector- ate of the Reverend Edwin S. Lines (later Bishop), 1874-79, which had grown to a sum of $4,400, the remainder of the necessary money was raised. Mrs. Boardman increased her gift to $30,000, and the present building was erected in 1909. 'T'he edifice, with a short square tower and cloister, regarded as one of the finest Gothic churches in Connecticut, was designed by Bertram G. Goodhuc.
Since 1909, when the Reverend Floyd Steele Kenyon, formerly assistant at St. Paul's Church in New Haven, was called to the parish, Christ Church has more than doubled its membership and has enjoyed its most prosperous era. Shortly after Mr. Kenyon became rector, the Chapel of the Good Shepherd was established in Tyler City (Orange), where a disused school house was purchased and remodeled. In 1912, a parish house, connected with the chapel, was erected at a cost of $10,000.
A few years later (1917), Christ Church Parish House was built at a cost of $40,000. Its large clubroom in Jacobean style (on which about one-third of
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the total cost of the building was expended), one of the finest in the New Haven area, serves the community as well as the parish.
In 1923, the parish celebrated its 200th Anniversary with a three-day cele- bration attended by the Bishop of Aberdeen, Scotland, one of whose predeces- sors consecrated the Right Reverend Samuel Seabury, first bishop of an Ameri- can diocese, in 1784. During the anniversary celebration, a new gymnasium, added to the parish house at a cost of $20,000, was opened, and the parish house at Tyler City was dedicated.
Among the many activities of the Reverend Mr. Kenyon and his parishion- ers, which have benefited the entire community, was the establishment in 1917 of Camp Washington, a Boys' Camp at Bantam Lake, Connecticut. This camp, with accommodations for about 70 boys, is conducted on a nonprofit basis, with charges regulated to cover costs only. Through the efforts of Mr. Kenyon, A. Douglas Coe, camp director and son of the senior warden of Christ Church, and the contributions of many church members, Camp Washington is one of the best- equipped boys' camps in the State. Its assembly-and-dining hall is a reproduc- tion of Mount Vernon.
ST. MARTIN-IN-THE-FIELDS
During the Reverend A. J. Gammack's rectorate, special services were conducted in the hall at Oriental Park for the benefit of members of the parish resident in that section. In 1907, Mrs. Martha Ellen Pruden purchased land for $1,420 and gave it, as a site for a chapel, in memory of the Reverend Sam- uel Johnson, the first rector of the parish. The cornerstone of the chapel was laid by Mr. Gammack, May 3, 1908, at the corner of Washington Avenue and Park Street, and, on June 19, 1911, the building was dedicated and named St. Martin-in-the-Fields, for the church in London where Samuel Johnson had been ordained. As many of the timbers of the old Christ Church were used in its construction, one of the speakers at the dedication referred to it as "at once the newest and oldest church in Connecticut."
ST. JOHN'S-BY-THE-SEA PARISH
A mission parish of Christ Episcopal Church, called St. John's-by-the-Sea, has been organized in the West Shore section of the town. The West Shore Fire Department permits this parish the use of its auditorium on Ocean Avenue for weekly services.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCHI
Prior to 1868, Methodist preachers and laymen from New Haven held ser- vices in West Haven. Weekly "class meetings", at which members of several denominations united in worship, were held at the home of Henry H. Richards, a member of the Congregational church.
The first meeting to consider the organization of a Methodist Episcopal Society, and the erection of a church in West Haven, was called on July 5, 1868. by W. A. Cross. Eight persons were present : Messrs. Bassett, Chapman, Eames. Smith, William and Charles Armstrong, Thomas, and Cross. The meeting was
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opened with prayer by Mr. Bassett. Mr. Chapman was appointed chairman, and Mr. Cross secretary; a committee of three was appointed to secure a place to hold public worship.
Commencing on August 2, 1868, the Reverend J. W. Felvus, a local preacher, began holding Methodist-Episcopal services regularly Sunday mornings and Thursday evenings in Thompson's Hall. A Sunday school, with 23 members, was started August 23, 1868, and on September 8, 1868, the Reverend Charles Fletcher of the First Methodist Church in New Haven preached and received into membership 10 persons by letter and 19 on probation. A board of trustees, six members, was elected, and $2,000 pledged toward the building of a church. The first "Quarterly Conference" was held here April 18, 1869. The Reverend J. W. Felvus was pastor until April, 1870.
Nevertheless, plans proceeded rapidly for the erection of a church edifice, and the corner stone was laid August 16, 1870. That same year, the building, a wooden structure erected at a cost of $10,000, was completed; an auditorium was erected in 1881, at a cost of $4,500. Of the population of West Haven in 1870, only 31 were members of the Methodist-Episcopal Church and 10 were probationers.
No provision had been made for a large Bible school or for meetings of the various church societies, so, as the membership of the church grew, the demand for added facilities became urgent. At the annual meeting of the officers and teachers of the Bible school, in October, 1900, it was decided to start a building fund. The original donation for this purpose, collected at the Christmas enter- tainment, amounted to $33.31. A public appeal for funds for a new Sunday school building and repairs on the church was made in 1907. The sum of $10,000 was pledged and of that, $4,500 was used toward rehabilitation of the old struc- ture. The remainder was put aside as a building fund.
In 1914, plans for a new church were drawn; the next year the building fund was increased to $20,000, and members voted to proceed with the building. The old church was torn down, and the cornerstone of the new one laid by Bishop Luther B. Wilson on November 27, 1915. The cost of the new church, completed the following year, at Second Avenue and Center Street, amounted to about $45,000.
Present pastor of the church is the Reverend Ernest Wall.
ST. LAWRENCE CHURCH (R. C.)
Until 1886, the Catholics of West Haven worshiped in New Haven at St. John's Roman Catholic Church and at the Sacred Heart Church. A mission parish was established here, in April, 1886, under the jurisdiction of the Rever- end James Larkin, pastor of Milford. Mass was first celebrated in West Haven at the Borough Headquarters in the Thompson Block.
The cornerstone of the first edifice of St. Lawrence Church, a wooden structure, was laid by the late Right Reverend Bishop Lawrence McMahon, in 1886.
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Father Larkin continued to serve in West Haven until October 14, 1892, when the West Haven mission reverted to the parish of Sacred Heart, New Haven. Three years later, May 1, 1895, the Reverend Jeremiah Curtin was named the first resident pastor of St. Lawrence Roman Catholic Church. Hle served as pastor for 41 years.
Father Curtin, beloved by members of every denomination, came to West Haven when it was but a comparatively small community. During the early years the parish numbered about 200; today there are more than 4,000 parish- ioners, although the parish has since been divided twice. During the first years of his pastorate, when roads were poor, and travel difficult, his parish included all of West Haven, Orange, Westville, and Bethany. His ready wit and con- genial character made him many friends. He was public spirited and ever will- ing to lend a hand in the service of the community. For 35 years, he gave the benediction at the Memorial Day services in Oak Grove Cemetery.
The cornerstone of the brick St. Lawrence Church, at Main Street and Union Avenue, was laid in 1903. St. Lawrence Chapel, at Summer Street and Savin Avenue, was opened for services in 1910; during the summer months, Sunday Mass is celebrated at the Chapel at 8:30 and 10:30 A. M.
June 29, 1933, Father Curtin celebrated his Golden Jubilee of Ordination. Among those attending the Mass of Thanksgiving were the Most Reverend Maurice F. McAuliffe, Bishop of the Hartford Diocese, and the Right Reverend Monsignor Thomas, pastor of St. Patrick's Church, Washington, D. C. In July, 1933, Father Curtin was feted at a reception at the West Haven High School Auditorium and at a dinner at Savin Rock, attended by persons of all religious denominations. The veteran pastor said of the many celebrations, "1 have received more honors than the Pope of Rome."
Fifty-three years of priestly labors, forty-one of which were spent as pas- tor of St. Lawrence Church, ended March 11, 1936, when the entire community was saddened by news of his death. First Selectman Charles F. Schall paid him the following tribute: "The Rev. Jeremiah Curtin was one of West Haven's most beloved and outstanding citizens. His name was linked with the life of the town. His graciousness and unfailing wit made him a legion of friends. He was a personal friend of mine and enjoyed the respect of all."
Business activities were suspended and town hall offices were closed during the pontifical High Mass of Requiem that was celebrated by Bishop Maurice F. McAuliffe. The Mass was attended by more than 300 priests of the diocese, State and town officials, civic and political leaders, and members of the parish.
After Father Curtin's death, his assistant, the Reverend Michael Thomp- son, was administrator of the parish until April 30, 1936, when the Reverend Arthur G. Cavanaugh, the present pastor, was appointed. For many years, Father Cavanaugh, a native of Rockville, Connecticut, had been an instructor in St. Thomas Seminary, Hartford, and, at the time of his appointment, was pastor of Sacred Heart Church, Suffield, Connecticut.
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During the first year of his service, he made many improvements on the church property and paid off $6,000 of the church debt. He established a weekly Novena, held on Tuesday evenings, to St. Therese, the Little Flower. Father Cavanaugh also directs the activities of St. Lawrence Parochial School opposite the church. Next to the school is a large, two-story, red brick building used as a convent for the nuns who teach in the school. The rectory, a two-story wooden structure, is adjacent to the church. Masses at the church are celebrated on Sunday mornings at 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 o'clock; on holy-day mornings at 5:30, 7, 8, and 9 A. M. ; and on the first Friday of each month at 5:30, 7, and 8 o'clock A. M.
ST. PAUL'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHI
St. Paul's, the second Catholic parish established in West Haven, was taken from St. Lawrence parish and included the northern section of West Haven and all the territory within the Town of Orange. The establishment of this parish on September 22, 1916, was necessary because of the large number of Catholics in the northern section of the town.
'The parish was organized by the late Reverend Francis M. Murray, who had done semi-missionary work in the State, and Mass was at first celebrated in Harugari Hall, Campbell Avenue. Shortly after the parish had been created, a one-story brick church was built on First Avenue at Alling Street, with a rec- tory on Alling Street.
Father Murray, later a pastor of St. John's Church, New Haven, was suc- ceeded in 1926 by the Reverend Michael P. Barry, who had been pastor of Sacred Heart Church, Wethersfield, and chaplain of the State Prison, from April, 1919.
Father Barry purchased for the parish the old Redmen's Hall on First Avenue and transformed the building into an assembly hall. St. Paul's Chapel, on Orange Avenue near Tuthill Street, was opened for services in October, 1937. Another chapel in Allingtown, on Fenwick Street, known as Our Lady of Mount Carmel, was built in 1924. The death of Father Barry in December of 1939 came as a sad blow to the parish, as he had formulated many plans for its future development.
'T'he present pastor, Reverend James E. Dargan, appointed on January 25, 1940, is a native of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1918. Father Dargan had been the pastor of St. Bernard's Roman Catholic Church in Sharon, Connecticut.
Masses in St. Paul's Church, First Avenue, are celebrated on Sundays at 7:30, 8:30, 9:30, and 11 A. M .; on holy days at 6, 7:30, 8:30, and 9:30 A. M .; and on the first Friday of each month at 7 and 8 A. M.
OUR LADY OF VICTORY ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
Our Lady of Victory parish, Prospect Beach, was created to serve the needs of the greatly increased Catholic population in the western section of West
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Haven. The parish was organized, in 1935, by the Reverend John W. Walsh, who served for many years as a curate at Sacred Heart Church in New Haven. The spirit of cooperation shown by the whole community has greatly aided the pastor in his labors in the new parish.
Colonial Inn, on Ocean Avenue, for many years a summer hotel, was pur- chased and remodeled for use as a church, and the first Mass in the western district was celebrated in this building on November 10, 1935. The first floor of the building is used as a church and the second floor as an assembly hall. Alterations now under way will provide for a larger seating capacity. A dwell- ing near by, on Tyler Avenue, was purchased as a home for the pastor. Our Lady of Victory corporation has expended over $75,000 in purchasing and im- proving the property.
Masses at the church are celebrated on Sundays at 7, 8:35, 10, and 11 A. M .; on holy days at 7 and 8 A. M .; and on first Fridays at 7 A. M.
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF WEST HAVEN
Prior to 1890, Baptist services were conducted at various intervals in the homes of West Haven residents. During the years 1896-99, cottage prayer meetings were frequently conducted by the Reverend John Cameron, who was doing postgraduate work at Yale University.
When the Baptist Church in New Haven, Howard Avenue at Rosette Street, was disbanded, stipulation was made that money derived from the sale of the property could be used in the erection of a Baptist church, provided it was used within a limited time. West Haven Baptists were prompt to take action, and with the aid of the Reverend Charles J. Marchant organized a par- ish and held their first services in the Masonic Temple, Center Street, on Novem- ber 14, 1915.
On December 14 of that year, the Reverend Marchant was appointed the first pastor of the First Baptist Church of West Haven and served until his death on November 26, 1919. The Reverend W. H. Wakefield, named as his successor, began his duties on April 11, 1920. The cornerstone of the church was laid on December 11, 1921, and the first services in the new building were conducted in the church basement on March 5, 1922. The dedication of the edifice took place on October 1, 1922. The church is partially supported by the Connecticut Baptist Convention.
'T'he Reverend W. H. Wakefield remained as pastor of the church until February 3, 1924. His successor, the Reverend Bernard D. Adams, commenced his duties on July 6, 1924. His services in West Haven continued until June 30, 1928. The next minister to occupy the pulpit was the Reverend Elvin C. Daniels, who was appointed to the post October 14, 1928, and continued in that capacity until June 29, 1930.
The present minister, the Reverend Edwin T. Settle, Jr., received his ap- pointment on November 16, 1930.
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The order of Sunday Services is as follows: Sunday School at 9:30 A. M., Worship Service at 10:45 A. M., and the Young People's Society at 6:45 P. M.
The First Baptist Church is planning an elaborate celebration for the Sil- ver Jubilee of its organization, on November 14, 1940. Town officials, former pastors, and church leaders will be guests.
FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH OF WEST HAVEN
'The first Lutheran services in West Haven were held in 1910, in a build- ing on Center Street near Union Avenue, by the Reverend C. M. Esbjorn, who was pastor of the Bethesda Lutheran Church in New Haven. A Sunday school was conducted every Sunday, and services held on alternate Sundays. When the Reverend Esbjorn died in 1911, the supervision of the West Haven Mission was taken over by L. J. Benson, and G. K. Andeen, students at the Yale Divin- ity School.
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