Congregational Church – 1 Main Street
This Gothic Revival structure is one of Hebron’s remarkable examples of religious architecture. Compare it in your mind with St. Peters church and the United Brethren of Hebron synagogue. This church was designed by Ephraim J. Wilcox after the fire of 1882 and takes medieval Gothic details like pointed arches and asymmetrical detail and renders them in wood. The original Hebron Meetinghouse stood where the traffic light is located. In 1828 the location was changed to where this building now stands. It burned in the Fire of 1882
Until the new Connecticut Constitution of 1818, Congregationalism was the official religion of Connecticut. If you wanted to practice a different religion, you needed legal permission to do so which would enable your tax money to support a different church. While Episcopalians and Methodists gained the right to vote in 1818, African Americans and Indigenous People were denied that right by the Constitution of 1818.
Think about it
The U.S. Constitution prohibits the establishment of a national religion. Why then could a state like Connecticut continue to have a state church under the U. S. constitution? Do you think religion and government should be separate institutions?
Meet Your Neighbors QR Tours funded by the Hebron Greater Together Community Fund in conjunction with the Hebron Historical Society