St. James Episcopal Church

The **St. James Episcopal Church** is a West Hartford member of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It was organized by the Reverend Dr. George Burgess in 1843. Located at 1018 Farmington Avenue in West Hartford, the church was first constructed in 1855 on the west side of Goodman Green.

## History

On June 12, 1843, the Reverend Dr. George Burgess and forty families organized St. James's Church. The first public serves of this church were held that year in the Quaker Meeting house, then standing on Quaker Lane. Worship was also conducted for a while in the North District schoolhouse, and later services were held in the Academy building on the east side of the park at West Hartford Center. Reverend Burgess, the rector of Christ Church in Hartford, had general charge. The present site of the church was purchased in 1852, and the cornerstone of the building was laid with appropriate ceremonies on October 23, 1853. The Norman style red brick church building was consecrated with appropriate ceremonies, in which many prominent Episcopal clergymen had part, on April 25, 1855. The tower of the church, which was originally low, was extended in 1861 to its present height. In 1880, St. James's top and cross were added.

The rectory of the St. James Episcopal Church was built in 1758 for Reverend Nathaniel Hooker, the second pastor of the Congregational Church of West Hartford. It originally stood nearer to the street, and had a fine old-fashioned double door. It was remodeled twice, but retained its original features up through the 1930's. After it was built for Hooker, it was owned and occupied by Reverend Nathan Perkins, who was pastor of the Congregational Church from 1773 until 1838. The rectory was purchased for St. James Church in 1868, moved back from its original location quite near to the street, and remodeled.

Until the turn of the twentieth century, St. James's experienced limited growth. West Hartford in the mid-1800's was a rural community and most of the farmers belonged to the Congregational or Baptist churches. The population initially clustered in the eastern end of town. When St. John's moved to that part of town in 1909, most Episcopalians flocked there. St. James's was held together by clergy from Trinity College in Hartford. From 1896 to 1929, finances were difficult and St. James's lived under the wing of St. John's. The church received many valuable gifts from time to time from its members and friends, including memorial windows, an organ, a bell from the family of Robert Price, and a house and several acres of land bequeathed by the will of Mrs. Oliver Stanley, whose home was at the corner of Mountain Road and Park Road. The Huntington and Beach families were for many years generous financial supporters of the church.

After the resignation of Reverend John S. Littell in 1929, the question of the continued maintenance of the church received much careful consideration and it was decided that it would continue living under the wing of St. John's. In April 1931, the Reverend George G. Guinness became the next rector and served the parish for sixteen years. His flair for leadership and intellectual decisiveness helped St. James's to experience rapid growth. This dynamic vitality was sustained by his successor, the Reverend Canon Douglas W. Kennedy, who led the parish from 1947 to 1971. By the mid-1940's, the congregation outgrew the red brick church on the west side of Goodman Green. In June 1953, after abandoning the old building, which became overgrown with ivy, it was demolished. Reverend Kennedy began the fulfillment of a three-fold building program - the purchase of a new rectory in 1949, the building of a parish house in 1954, and the construction of the church in 1962 at its present location on Farmington Avenue west of the Center.

The Reverend Ronald Woodruff led the parish from 1971-1989, developing a strong commitment to outreach locally and abroad. The mortgage of the church was retired during his tenure. The Reverend John L. C. Mitman began his term in 1990 and embarked on a campaign to update the church and parish house. He retired from parish ministry in 2001 and became the Director of The Society for the Increase of the Ministry. The present rector, the Reverend Robert C. Hooper, III was called to be the new rector in 2002. Blue Back Square opened in the Center in the fall of 2007. This new venture provided unique and convenient shopping, dining and entertainment, and an inviting central gathering place for the influx of new members.

## Rectors

* Samuel Benedict (Jan. 18, 1852 - Nov. 27, 1855) - Became rector of St. John's Church in Georgia.
* Abner Jackson (April 1856 to October 1856) - Became President of Trinity College from 1867 to 1874.
* Thomas R. Pynchon (1857-1863) - Became a professor at Trinity College.
* Peter Vorhees Finch (1863)
* Benjamin Webb (Oct. 1863 to 1864)
* John Trumbull Huntington (1864-1869) - Became Rector of the Church of Incarnation in Hartford.
* G. H. Clark, D.D. (1869-1873)
* Thomas R. Pynchon (1873 - August 1875) - Became President of Trinity College.
* William Ford Nichols (Aug. 8, 1875 - Apr. 29, 1877) - Became a Rector of Christ Church in Hartford.
* John Moore Bates (July 1877 to April 1881).
* Joseph William Hyde (Sept. 3, 1882 - June 1887).
* Greenough White (Sept. 22, 1893 - June 1894).
* James Gammack (Feb. 1896 - Oct. 1911) - Retired and died in West Hartford on February 17, 1923.
* Harry E. Robbins (Feb. 1912 - Nov. 1914).
* Samuel R. Colladay (Oct. 1, 1916 - Oct. 1, 1917) - Became Rector of Christ Church and Dean of Cathedral.
* John Stockton Littell (Oct. 1, 1918 - 1929) - Resigned as Rector.
* George G. Guinness (April 1931 - 1947)
* Douglas W. Kennedy (1947-1971)
* Ronald Woodruff (1971-1989)
* John L. C. Mitman (1990-2001)
* Robert C. Hooper, III (2002-present)