History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

of meetin.u' f(jr l'e((uoniioek Lodge was in a small room ieal strength at tlie jiresent time is ninety, in tlie n|>per story of No. 3') Wall Stn-rt, Imt in .Ian- Kaeh of the lodges and ene:impmrnt- makes its uary, 1S4'), a larger hall was ociai|iicd, at .No. til7 own by-laws res]ieetiiig the amount of admission fee.s Water Street. Feb. 4, 1S47, Areaniim Lodge. N'ii. 41. and weekly and funeral benefits. was instituted, its first otheers being L-a ]\Ior-;e. N. (J. ; The Mutual Aid Ass(ji-iation. eomposed of ( )dd- W. H. Laeey, V. (i. ; \V. H.Williams, See.; L. ( '. Fellows throu.irhout the State, has at tin' ].resent Shepard, Treas. The plaee of nieetin.i;' was tlu' -^ame time (August, 188lt) four hundred ami thirty-live one oeeiipied by Pequonnoek Li>dge, No. 4it7 \\'ater memhers in Rrid,ge]iort. It pays upon tin' death of a Street. For a number of years these lodges jirospereil member fifteen hundri'd dollars in one cla-^, and five fiiianeially atid nunierieally, but the intia-i'^t having linmlred dollars in anotlu r class. Tlieic is also a deelined, and seeret societies generally being out of siek-liem4it association in connection with I'eipion- favm- with the public, in ISoll Arcanum Lodge snr- nock and Arcanum Lodges, which ]iays fi\-e dollars renderi'd its charter, and in IStitl its cxatnple was fol- per week during sickness in addition to fhi' legular lowed by l'ei|Uonnoek Lodge. benefits paid by tin' lodge, .\nother inntmil-aid as- Steuben Lodge, Xo. 83, of this eity, was iustifufed sociafion of niendiers of these two lodges has at present Ajiril 1, b8i;7. ;ind for a long time met at the old h.ill idiout cnie hundred names upon its roll, eaeli one of on Water Stiiet, bnt on .Iiily '.(, 1N7!I. having greatly whom pavs tw'j dollars ujpon the death of any member increased in membershi]i and in liinds, it nauoved to of the assoidation. its present elegant rooms in Stanton Llock. State In addition to the necessary <'xpeirse of fitting u]! Street. The charter of Peipionnoek I^odgi' was re- lodi.'-es, rent, etc., there has been ]iaid out for relief of newed Feb. 2. bSli'.t, on petition of ]\Lirtin (.'oiirad. F. nuanbcrs of Bridgeport organizations since the re- IL Stevens, J. L. Roberts, El)enezer Wheider, and vival of the order in bsi;7 not far from ciglitce)i thoii- Lewis Sherman, former members. Its meetings were sand dollars. h(dd at hrst cm \Vater Street, hut in .(anuary, 1.S7I, it The whole numlier (d'jiersons adnntted to nn-mber- nanoved to the hall over the People's Savings I'.auk, ship during the same ]ieriod is about twelve hundred, corner of ^laiti and I'ank Streets, and April r.t. 1.S73, and tin- strength of the onler in this ]ilace .Inly 1, to its ]iresent quarters, in the upper story of Bur- is.sd, was as follows : nmghs' Building, upon the corner of Main ami John "si"!]"''" '"''hlm.t."" Streets. These rooms were fitted uii, furnished, fres- l'c-.|""i'"'"kTi"age, No. 4 .-U'.! S7,i;ii|i ' ' ,\i(iniiiiii " " 4t Hi :l,7()7 eied, ami carpeted very handscnnely hy the lodge, and st.Mii.iMi " " sn 22:1 .'..tTii the hall is the largest oceujiied in this State hy the .s'.'ii! iianis '• " ii'J !.!...."..!..'."."!r.!!!!„ l;'i!i i.Sis Tutal s'.it JlT.si:. \t the same date the other branches of the order reported the ibllowin.g memliershiji ami strength : 31rlllln.'l- FuimIsuu .xllil). ll;illil. in the Cernuin language. HiinKfpmt Kncampment :i(l Ssii ■^ '^ Stratli.'I.l " It'.l IJU) In the vcar bS7(; it was thou;;ht advisable to lie'.;in loi.inlslup Lo.lKe, D. of R i:i-2 117s , , , , ■ ^. ,. ^, , . „ ,, • , , I'liiiritv " " IMl loll to hold meetings ot the order lu Ettst Bridge[i(n1, and " — Harris Lodge, Xo. !)9, was begun, October 27th of ■''"'"' ■*'■" *^"'" that year, at No. 224 East Main Street I Barr's Block), The.se figures show that the agirregate amount of with thirty-ei.ffht members; but, a severe stin-ni liav- funds 011 hand in the several lodges of the place was ing unroofed the building, the lodge removcil to its twenty-one thousand and fifteen dollars, and that, Jiresent rooms, upon East Washington Aviaine, ahont not including the encampments m- Friendship and Jan. I, 1X77. Charity Lodge, Xo. 4, and I'riendship ('harity Lodges, the membership of the (jrder em- Lodge, No. 13, Degree of Rebekah, were instituted braced ahont one-sixth of tlu' voting p(jpulati(jn of May 7, IN7(), ami Feb. 13, 1874, the latter working in the eity. thetieriuan langutige. Both these bodies arc com- It should he also stated that, wdiile ]ie(aiiiiary heiie- poseil of metnliers of the other subordinate lodges ami fits are a h-ading feature of Odd-Fellowship, they are their wives, and are in a flourishing comlition. by no means the s(de, or I'veii the idiief. eml of the in- Stratfield Em.-ain]>ment, Xo. 23, was institnted .Inly stitntion. Though tmt himself a iiiemhcr, the writer 1(5, 1809, with seven charter members, ami im-cts in is assnri'd hy tlnwc in whom he has full cimtiilence the hall of I'eiiuonnoek Lodge. The whole niimlier that it inculcates love for Iliiu "in wlnnn we live and onler. .\rcanum Lodge, X'o. 41, was revived !Mareh 17, lS7."i, ami at present meets in the hall of Pei|Uon- nock Lodge, while Lessing Lodge, Xo. 94, organized Dec. 14, 1874, has always met over the Peojde's Sav- ings Bank, aiul, like its jiareut, Stiadum Lodge, works T_'t; HISTORY OP FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT. move and have our Ix-iii'i." It teaches jrratitiuh' to tlie Creator, loyalty to our country anil its laws, and fraternity to our fellow-nicn. AmonfT the Bridsrcport men who have been promi- nent in the order are the late (Jeorfie S. yanford, wiio was elected Warden of the Grand Lodge in 184S, ( irand Master in 1849, and Grand Representative in 1850, and Rev. J. M. Willey, D.D., former rector of St. John's Church, who lield the offices of G rami ( 'iiaplain, (Jrand Mii-stcr, and Rcj>rescntative. Rev. K. W. JIaxcy, I). I)., present rector of 8t. .lohn's, is a member of Arcanum Lodge, No. 41, and ha.s been Cliaplain of the Grand Lodge for the pa-st three years. Charles W. Smith, of Pequonnock Lodge and Stratfield Encampment, was elected (irand Patriarcii in 1877, and is at present Grand Rei)resentativc ; and Thomas Stirling, of Ar- canum Lodge, was chosen Grand Master of the (Jrand Lodge of Connecticut in 1878, and in ]87il Represen- tative for two years from that body to the Sovereign Grand Lodge. ORriI.\S ASYLUM. The Bridgeport Protestant Orphan Asylum was or- ganized Dee. 11, 18()7. and incorporated May (>, ]S(>8, " for the purpose of relieving, supporting, and educat- ing children who are friendless and desolate," Miss Lydia R. Ward, Mrs. Kliza S. W. Jonas, Mi-s. Mary L". Clapp, and forty-seven other ladies being the incor- porators. The building now occupied lus an asylum. No. 119 Lafayette Street, between .Vtlantic and (ireg- ory Streets, was completed March lU, 1870, and cost thirteen thousand dollars. The laud ujion which it stands was the gift of Nathaniel Wheeler, Isaac H. Whiting, and Francis Ives. A new building for hos- ]>ital pur|>oses has just been completed at a cost of <me thousand dollars. The present number of in- mates of the a.syluni is thirty-two, and the annual expenses about two thousand five hundred dollars. Officers of the institution are Mi.ss Lydia R. Ward, President ; Mrs. Edward Sterling, Vice-President ; Mrs. S. B. Sumner, Chief Manager; Mrs. Ct. Ohne- sorg, Recording Secretarj' ; Miss Henrietta Noble, Corresponding Secretary; Miss (ieorgiana (iossling, Treasurer; Miss S. C. Ward, Provider; Mrs. W. K. Seeley, Assistant Provider; Mrs. W. K. Seeley, Mi-s. D. M. Reed, Miss Sarah C. Ward, Standing Commit- tee ; Nathaniel Wheeler, (ieorge Mallory, E. S. Haw- ley, Edward Sterling, Clapp Spooner, William 1). Bishop, Trustees. I'AKKS. An account has already been given of our beautiful plciLsure-ground by the seaside, and in the .same con- nection reference was made to the reservation of a tract of land in East Bridgeport for a public park by Messrs. Barnuni and Noble in 1851. This lan<l was not formally transferred to the city until .Inly 17, 18(i."), when deeds executed by P. T. Barnum and William H. Perr)' were accepted by the Common Council in behalf of tli^city, that body having been duly authorized to take this action by a city meeting held July 8th. At the same meeting of the Council the name of Washington Park was given to the land, an appropriation of one thousand dollars was made for fencing, in addition to the sum already raised by ])rivate subscription, and William II. Perry, Charles A. Hotchkiss, and Nathaniel Wheeler were appointed commissioners for the care and improvement of the park. The proposed Bcardsley Park is situated about one mile north of Old Mill (Jreen, and two and a half miles from the county c(mrt-house, between the Trumbull Road and Bunnell's Pond. It contains some fifty acres, and its highest point is about one hundred and five feet above tide-water. By the following list it will be seen that Bridge- port is well provided for in the matter of parks : ArcA in Estimated AnnunI cost of acre«. value. mainttMiauce. Seaside Park 75 $250,000 SZiiOO Washington Park 4 10ii,000 500 Beanlslev '• 60 2»,IKI0 50" Old Mill Green 0 5,000 100 Total 1;15 SaT5,000 $3000 POT.IOE. The police force of Bridgeport at the ])re.sent time consists of Chief William E. Marsh, ('apt. (ieorge S. Pratt, Sergt. Wm. J. Dorrance, and sixteen patrol- men. There are also a police surgeon and thirty- seven special officers for occasional duty when re- quired. The annual expenses of the force, ])ay-roll, etc., amount to about eighteen thousand dollars.