I’ve written before about the move of Saugatuck Congregational Church.
The building where Westport was founded — in 1835, a group of residents sat in its pews, to create a new town from parts of Norwalk, Weston and Fairfield — seems to sit on a perfect New England site: behind a broad lawn, a few yards from the middle of downtown.
But its original location was across the street, and up a hill — where the Shell gas station is now, next to the Fairfield County Bank building I have never seen anyone go into or come out of.
(The new site had previously been only the church parsonage. That house, and 8 acres of land, had been a gift from Morris K. Jesup in 1884.)
In the early dawn of August 28, 1950 the Post Road (then called State Street) was blocked. 500 men, women and children gathered for a service of prayer and thanksgiving.
V-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y — at 60 feet per hour — the 200-ton church was moved down a 19-foot incline on 55 logs, which revolved under runners. “This is more fun than a cocktail party!” one “Westport matron” told Life magazine.
Life Magazine chronicled the church move in its September 11, 1950 issue.
Photos of the event now hang proudly in the church.
(They also line the front hall of the Westport Woman’s Club, where — a couple of weeks after the church trek — the 2nd, less famous Sunday school building was cut in half. The 2 sections made their own journey west, and were joined together to form what is now Bedford Hall, at the WWC clubhouse on Imperial Avenue. Frederick Bedford paid half the cost of the $20,000 purchase, moving and renovation price.)
Life Magazine ran photos of Bedford Hall being moved from the Post Road to Imperial Avenue.
As I said, I’ve written about both moves before.
But a couple of days ago, I saw — for the first time — a film of the church move.
James Orr posted a YouTube video to Facebook. Silently — but in color (!) — we see the preparation work, the move, a service on the new lawn, even a shot of the new church months later, blanketed in snow.
It’s a fascinating look back, at a memorable but seldom-seen moment in Westport history.
And if anyone can identify any of the dignitaries (or young kids) seen in the video, click “Comments” below.
(Friday Flashback is a weekly “06880” feature. If you enjoy this — or anything else on our hyper-local blog — please support us with a tax-deductible donation. Just click here. And thank you!)
There were several pictures of Rev. Daniels, the minister. Many others looked familiar but the glimpses were either so dark or fast that I can’t be sure. Many of us were there at a distance to witness the event.
Definitely Gib Daniels. Hard to see!
Great time capsule.
An amazing trip back to yesteryear. My yesteryear, anyway. The people I recognize are: Gibson I. Daniels, the minister, of course; Stuart [Stewart? I forget] Heinritz; my stepfather, John Ohanian, leading the church choir; Herbert Baldwin, who was then First Selectman; and possibly Lucy Gorham (Gorham Avenue was named for her family, I believe). I think but am not sure that I see my mother, Phyllis Ohanian, who was the church organist, singing in the choir as well. I’m not sure whether I myself was there or not — I would think so, because both my parents were. This was a great find, Dan. I’m going to have a closer look at the film tomorrow and see if I can pick out anyone else. I would think Mr. Daniels’s children, Margaret and David, who were about my age (12, at the time), would have been there.
Wonderful Memories. We must be from about the same time period. David Daniels and I were in the same class before he went to private school. My grandmother was the organist until your mother and father came. The Ohanian’s came and contributed so much to music in the town, church and at Staples. I looked but did not see Mrs. Roman Heyn (Gertrude) she later contributed the organ in memory of her mother. I do have some newspaper articles about that contribution! This post did take me down memory lane. I was there with my mother but way distant from all the activity.
Besides Gibson Daniels, I recognized Claudia Wood Rahm’s father Robert Wood in the video at the end which looks like a dedication ceremony. He later partnered with Millard Fuller to help start Habitat for Humanity.
We moved to Westport around 1952 or 1953 and joined Saugatuck Cong. Church so we missed the church moving.
Very cool. And I thought I had seen everything about the Saugatuck Congregational Church move . . .
“the Fairfield County Bank building I have never seen anyone go into or come out of.” Got a chuckle out of the truthfulness of this line.