First Church of Christ and the Ancient Burying Ground facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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First Church of Christ and the Ancient Burying Ground
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First Church of Christ
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 Location in Connecticut
Location in the United States
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| Location | 60 Gold St., Hartford, Connecticut |
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| Area | 3 acres (1.2 ha) |
| Built | 1807 |
| Architect | Wadsworth, Daniel |
| NRHP reference No. | 72001324 |
| Added to NRHP | December 05, 1972 |
The First Church of Christ and the Ancient Burying Ground is a very old church and cemetery in Hartford, Connecticut. It's also called Center Church or First Church in Hartford. This church is special because its congregation (the group of people who worship there) is the oldest in Hartford. It was started way back in 1636 by a person named Thomas Hooker.
The building you see today is the fourth one built for this church. It was finished in 1807. In 1972, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's recognized as an important historical site. The cemetery next to the church is even older, officially started in 1640. It was the only cemetery in Hartford until 1803.
About the Church Building
The First Church of Christ is in downtown Hartford, right at the corner of Main and Gold Streets. It's a great example of a building style called Classical Revival. This style often looks like ancient Greek or Roman temples. Daniel Wadsworth likely designed it. He probably got ideas from a church in London called Saint Martin in the Fields.
The front of the church has a huge two-story entrance with tall, fancy columns. These columns are called Ionic columns. Above this entrance is a three-part tower. Each part of the tower gets smaller as it goes up. The front of the church has three doors. Each door has a half-round window above it. The old cemetery is behind and to the side of the church. It has many different types of gravestones. These stones were made by various carvers. They used materials like brownstone, schist, slate, and marble.
A Look at History
The church group in Hartford started in 1636. It was a type of Christian church called a Reformed congregation. Thomas Hooker was their first leader. The people in this group had moved from England to Massachusetts. They lived there for four years. Then, they left Massachusetts after a disagreement. This dispute was with the Puritan leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
The old cemetery next to the church dates back to around 1640. The oldest gravestone still standing there is from 1648. The church building that stands today was built in 1807. It is the fourth building used for worship by this group. Both the church building and the cemetery were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Today, the church is part of the United Church of Christ (UCC).
Important People Buried Here
Many important people are buried in the Ancient Burying Ground. Here are a few of them:
- Thomas Hooker: He was the founder of Connecticut.
- William Leete: He served as a Governor of Connecticut.
- Joseph Talcott: Another Governor of Connecticut.
- Jeremiah Wadsworth: He was a member of the United States House of Representatives.
- Thomas Welles: He also served as a Governor of Connecticut.
- George Wyllys: Another Governor of Connecticut.
Gallery
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Angled frontal view of the church.
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Gateway to the Ancient Burying Ground
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Mix of brownstone graves in the cemetery.
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Center Church House
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The Stone of Timothy Stanley, the oldest tombstone in the yard dating to 1648, carved by George Griswold of Windsor CT
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Schist tombstones carved (left to right) by Gershom Bartlett and Aaron Haskins.
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Group of Tabletop Grave Markers from the 1700s in the Ancient Burying Ground
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Slate Tombstone from 1740 with deaths head imagery, carved in Boston
See also
