EXPLORE ARCHITECTURE AND HISTORY AT ICONIC WEST HARTFORD LOCATIONS
Noah Webster House Fall Fundraiser Explores Houses of Worship
WEST HARTFORD, CT. – On Sunday, November 14, 2021, explore the stunning architecture, history, and community impact of West Hartford's houses of worship. The Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society’s fall fundraiser, the West Hartford House Tour, will this year provide a curated tour of some of the town's most iconic houses of worship. At each site, guests will learn about the architectural features of the building, the story of the congregation and why it was established in West Hartford, and how it has interacted with the community over time.
Six sites will be open to the public from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. as part of the West Hartford House Tour - Houses of Worship fundraiser. Guests will tour the sites and receive information from staff and volunteers, as well as a commemorative program with histories and vintage images related to the houses of worship. The program will also include information about the history of various religious groups that practice in West Hartford.
About the sites featured on the Houses of Worship tour:
Congregation Beth Israel at 701 Farmington Ave. is West Hartford's first synagogue, built in 1936. The Reform Jewish congregation dates to 1843, and their original synagogue was built in Hartford in 1876 (today's Charter Oak Cultural Center). The presence of Congregation Beth Israel in town paved the way to an eventual Jewish migration from Hartford to West Hartford. Today, Beth Israel is the largest reform temple in New England and one of the oldest in the country.
The congregation of First Baptist Church, 90 North Main St., West Hartford, organized in 1858. In 1937, when a new, more spacious church was needed, First Baptist moved to its present location but chose to keep many of the features of the original church, such as the original front columns, stone steps, bell and corner stone.
First Church, West Hartford, 12 S. Main St., West Hartford, is the oldest congregation in town dating back to 1701 when it was known as the Fourth Congregational Church of Hartford. Many notable West Hartford residents have been affiliated with this church. Founding father Noah Webster, was baptized in this congregation in 1758, the same year as Lemuel Haynes, the first African-American to be ordained as a minister of a major Protestant denomination.
St. John's Episcopal Church, 679 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, was originally located in Hartford, where the congregation formed in 1841. Some of St. John’s more notable parishioners include author Harriet Beecher Stowe, Elizabeth Colt, and Gideon Welles. The edifice seen today on Farmington Ave., with its main entrance facing Highland Street, was completed on June 9, 1909.
St. Thomas the Apostle, 872 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, was begun as one of the town’s earliest Roman Catholic churches in 1920 by Monsignor John F. Callahan. Parishioners built the first church - a small wooden building on the corner of Boulevard and South Quaker Lane. Today’s church complex includes the Gothic-style church, a beautiful plaza lined with trees and plants, a rectory, a convent, and around the corner on Dover Road, St. Thomas the Apostle School.
In the late 1700s, Quakers arrived in West Hartford and established a meeting house and cemetery on today's South Quaker Lane. By 1828, most of its members moved to Ohio and the site was abandoned. In the 1930s, a second Quaker movement started, and the group obtained the original plot of land and built the existing Quaker Meeting House in 1950 (144 S. Quaker Ln., West Hartford.) An 18th-century cemetery on the grounds – the final resting place of West Hartford’s early Quakers, including the Burrs, Sedgwicks, and Gilberts – will also be featured on the tour.
The West Hartford House Tour – Houses of Worship event would not be possible without the generosity of presenting sponsor Deb Cohen of Coldwell Banker Realty West Hartford and gold sponsor JP Carroll Construction.
In addition to the in-person tours being held on Sunday, November 14, the museum is creating a series of videos chronicling each location with present-day footage, historic imagery, interviews, and stories. With a $15 contribution, you receive exclusive early access to the videos and a digital program complete with information about each site. The videos will become freely available to the public by the end of 2021.
For tickets and additional information visit https://noahwebster.yapsody.com/. Advance tickets are $30; $25 for museum members. Advance ticket holders can start the tour at any location. A limited supply of tickets will be available the day of the event at $35 each, starting at 12:30 p.m. at ticketing tables in front of First Church, West Hartford and St. John’s Episcopal Church.
The West Hartford House Tour - Houses of Worship event is a fundraiser for the Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society, a not-for-profit museum. A portion of ticket sales will also be donated to participating houses of worship.
The Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society is a not-for-profit museum and cultural destination where citizens can learn to understand and appreciate the past. The museum preserves the birthplace of Noah Webster, the founding father, educator, author and lexicographer who taught generations of Americans what it means to be American. This National Historic Landmark is also a repository for the history of West Hartford, the community that molded Webster’s future and is still thriving 250-plus years later. The historic house and exhibit spaces are open Monday through Saturday 1-4 p.m. For information on the museum’s extensive school and public programs, visit www.noahwebsterhouse.org or call 860-521-5362.