Morning journal and courier., 1884-01-23
NEW HAvEN's FILMS AND GREEN.
Descriptions, Historical Items and An ecdOtes of Persons and Things Con-
 neetei Herewith.
BY HENRY HOWE.

Copyrighted 1883 by Henry Howe.1 IN ABOUT THIRTY CHAPTERs-CHAPTER xXIv. Our Green a Reminder of God and Coun- try-POHver of the BfbIe-The Strac- lures on the Green in 1SI2-Ruilding of the Present Churches in the War of 1sI2-Commodore Hardy and the Lum- Der Vessels-Ebenezer Johnson, Design CT of the North Church-VVtt of James Htnhou,e-DennfsonO OImstod and His Siamese Twins-Papa Goodwin.
 Our Green is reminder of two prime fac tors in our lives, God and country. The churches appeal to our moral and spiritual I natures, and it is beautiful fact that man wills to support institutions designed solely | to make him pure. To those of the old New England stock who were born and bred here, | these churches on the Green have grown into l their lives with power of which they are scarcely conscious and many recall l special occasions when impressions were ] made that will remain as an eternal fragrance. One such we like here to recall. Nearly for l ty years since the writer by chance was on I an evening in the Center church to listen to l an address upon the mission cause. The ] speaker, stranger here, and plain, simply l attired man of medium size, with long dark | hair and swarthy complexion, arose. He be- gan in a conversational manner. His very first tones struck upon the audience, slow, drawling and wonderfully distinct. The whole manner of the man, his eccentricity,
 originality, self abnegation and complete ab
 sorption in the subject. his natural way of
 uttsring the simple, weighty truths, carried
 his hearers with him, and when he had closed
 every soul present must have felt sorry, as
 did the writer, that it had not been pro-
 longed. They had been listening to a thor
 oughiy original man; an American filled with
 the spirit of freedom, of the value of man
 as man; 8 Christian whose life had been
 built upon the sublime truths of the wonder
 full book. whose grand lesson is "Peace on
 earth and good will to man" The discourse
 was an exhibition of the soul of eloquence
 The drawling manner with which the speaker
 had opened at first struck upon ones sensi
 bilities with sensation akin to the ludicrous;
 in a minute this passed away under the force
 of his ideality, the spirit that was behind ad-
 vanced and then took possession of the audi.
 ence. single sentence remains in memory.
 He was dwelling upon the power of the Bi-
 ble, how 1t lay at the foundation of our in-
 stitutions, how dear it was in the affections
 of our people, even unconsciously to them
 selves. So strong was this that if some for
 eign power should attempt to wrest it from
 us, 'eVen many of those whom we class as
 among the vile would rise up and risk their
 very hearts, blood in it's defense.'' And this
 is true to day as it was true then. Few are
 so sanken but that they at least like to have it resting upon their tables something good
 and solid for contemplation; as object
 that seems to confer an air of responsibility
 and virtue upon the home. The speaker
 whom we have described was born just be-
 fore the beginning of this century and (like Abraham Lincoln) in the backwoods of Ken | lucky. He was the late John Price Durbin,
 the eminent Methodist divine.
 The flagstaff or liberty pole, as they alone
 called it in the gears near the gaining of
 liberties, ever reminds of our country. It
 is not ornate, but it supports one day in the
 year the ever glorious flag. It would always
 be thing Of joy if the beautiful emblem
 should on the rising of every sun be there to
 welcome his coming and wave our city
 the entire 365 days of the year. Usage would
 not sanction this, but those who love their
 city cannot well object to our setting so pa-
 triotic an example It would be proud dis
 tinction for us to be the one city of the Un-
 ion where the bright, cheery, dear old flag was never lowered.
 In the rooms of our Historical society, and
 also in tho parlor of Charles w. Allen, late
 chief of police, is painting of the Green by Munson, showing the buildings thereon just
 
 Haven church," wooden building on the site of the North church; the ''New Brick meeting house, the site of the Center church the old State House, just northeast
 erly from the site of Trinity, and just north easterly from the first named a small, one story building of two rooms, called 8 ''Sab- ba'day house." where families from the coun try were won't in the winter season, In the noon interval between the services, to lunch 1 and warm themselves, for it was not until
 many ears later that stoves were introduced into churches, and then not without strong opposition.
 The Fair Haven society was an aoffshoot from the White Haven society, which last occupied the old Blue meeting house on the corner of Elm and Church streets. Parent
 and child eventually came together and formed the United society, which built the l present North church. Why the name White Haven was ever used no one living knows, and to Leonard Bacon in his lifetime it was | an unsolved enigma. The "New Brick meet ing house." called the First society, the l original first church of New Haven, founded | by the fathers who, on their landing, wor- shipped on their first Sunday, April 15, 1888, under large spreading oak on the lot on the northeast corner of George and College streets Their first structure was near the
 site of the liberty pole, and not to attend
 church was g serious offence, regarded as | breaking the Sabbath, for which offence Will
 liam Blayden, as appears by the records, was,
 on the 7th of September. 1647, sentenced to | be ''publicquely whipped.''
 The era of the war of 1872 was the time
 that the two churches above spoken of were
 demolished and the three churches now on | the Green erected. The North church was
 built in 1914 15 at cost of $32, PA 5S, in
 cluding the chandelier, great thing for that day; the Center church in 1813-14 at 8 cost l of $34, 1000, and Trinity chnrch in 1814-16 at an expense of about S28, 1000. As showing 1 the increased cost of building in our time, the new tower to this edifice alone cost $21 1000. | The first Episcopal church stood on Church street, few rods below the Cutler building. | It was built in 1754-5 was of wood with steeple surmounted by crown and was | taken down about 1916. While these churches | were building Commodore Hardy commanded | the squadron that blockaded the feet of | Decatur in the Thames. As his vessels were | patrolling the waters of the Sound and the timber was mostly got from the Connecticut l river it was necessary to obtain his permis- 1 sion to pass unmolested. This he gave cheer fully, remarking that ''he made no war on
 religion An immense amount of lumber was thus brought to the town under this pre- | tense, and our lumber yards were filled to
 overhowing, but nice sense of honor would
 have forbidden this, although it was war | time.
 The architect of the Center and Episcopal
 churches was Ithiel Town, that of the North
 church Ebenezer Johnson. There were then but few architects in the country, our houses and churches being mostly planned by the