The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1897-08-13
BETHEL.

EDUCATIONAL CHURCH AND SOCIETY
IN BETHEL, NOVEMBER 80, 1860 BY REV
L. P. HICKOK, D. D.
The first settlement of the town of
Danbury was made in the summer of
1854 by eight families, all but one of
which were emigrants from the town of
Norwalk. The town continued as one
society until the year 1854, 70 years,
when what is now the town of Brook
field, made up of parts taken from New
Milford, Newtown and Danbury, was
incorporated as society and called New
bury. Five years after in October, 1859,
Sat a General Assembly of the governor
and company held at New Haven, on the
report of committee that had been ap-
pointed by the Assembly in May previous
to view the circumstances of the society
in the town of Danbury, and the situa-
ton and circumstances of the inha bitants
living in the south part of said town.
ship, who pray to be distinct ecclesias-
tical society according to certain limits
and bounds set forth in memorial of
Ebenezer Hickok and Lemuel Beebe and
others, it was resolved, that they shall
be, and they are hereby made into
distinct ecclesiastical society to be known
and called by the name of Bethel, with
the same powers and privileges as other
ecclesiastical societies in this colony do
enjoy" Upon application being made
| by Capt Ebenezer Hickok, Ebenezer
Platt and Phineas Judd to Thomas Bene-
dict, justice of the peace. Isaac Hoyt
| was directed to warn the first meeting to
| convene at his house on the 18th of No
Yember, 1859, land duly organize the
| society. The whole territory was then
but sparsely settled, and only a few
houses stood on the ground now occupied
by this cheerful and thriving village.
| At this first meeting it was voted to call
some candidate to preach with said So
| ciety, to provide some suitable place of
/ worship for the present; to build meet
ing house As feet by SO, and 81 feet in
height between joints; and to apply to
the court at Fairfield to pitch the stakes
where the meeting house should be.
| The sides of the house were to be cover
ed with oak shingles riven out three feet
long, and all the work to be finished by
| the 1st of the next May. Some of us
| we'll remember those old riven oak
shingles, three feet long, covering the
sides of the house where we met for wor-
ship more than so years after they had
| first been put on.
Capt Ebenezer Hickok gave the So
ciety the land for burying ground,
| and site for meeting house. On the
Doth of August, 1750,it was 'voted unan-
mously in the affirmative that the So
ciety proceed to call the worthy Noah
| Wetmore to the work of the gospel minis
try in and for this society,"" On the 18th
of October Mr. Wetmore formally &C.
depted the call and the time for his Or
dination was fixed to Wednesday, the
Goth of November, but as the governors
subsequent appointment of Thanksgiving
interfered the day was afterwards
changed to the 25th. The old council of
one hundred years ago which convened
for the ordination of the first minister in
this place was constituted of the follow
ing members:
Rev Messrs and Messengers Elisha
Kent, John Rider of Phillippi, now South
East. Ebenezer White of Danbury, David
Judson and Richard Fairman of New
town, James Beebe of North Stratford,
Ezrahiah Wetmore and Dea Elnathan
Wheeler of Stratford, Elijah Sill of New
Fairfield north, now Sherman, Nathaniel
%
Stratfield now of Bridgeport, James
Taylor and Dea Samuel Trowbridge of
New Fairfield South, Thomas Brooks and
Dea Joseph Smith, Newbury snow:Brook-
field, Elnathan Gregory and Dea Elizur
Hamlin of West Phillippi now Carmel.
Mr. White preached the sermon, mir
Kent made the ordaning prayer. Mr.
Judson gave the pastoral charge, Mr. Sill
the right hand Of fellowship. Seventy
two members of the old church at Dan
bury withdrew and joined the new
church and society at Bethel. Your cor
respondent remembers the old church
building which stood nearly on the same
site that the present church now stands,
but facing the east. The old church
building that many of us remember so
well was burned July 81, 1912. The
burning of the old edifice was supposed
to be at that date of incendiary origin. |
At the northeast corner of the old meet |
ing house stood small barn that was
set on fire between the hours of 10 and II |
o'clock at night. The church caught |
fire from the barn and worked its
way to the steeple and upward to the
weather vane which commenced TO re-
vo,ve very rapidly and kept in motion
until the wood work burned away when
it topled over and came to the ground.
The heat was intense on the opposite
side of the street. The buildings were
saved only by the grea test effort Of the
old firemen and citizens. The burning
of the meeting house seemed to cast q
gloom over our little v llage. TO the
young people it appeared to be an irrep-
arabic loss. Soon after our fathers got
together and voted to build new house
and appointed Isaac FL. Seely, Tim othy
B. Hickok and Henry @. Judd building
In the meantime they hired
,he old Temperance hall Of /. H. Wilson
which now stands at the corner of Chest
nut and Elm street as it did then. Re-
igious services and Sunday school were