Norwalk After Two Hundred & Fifty Years

his letter of resignation in 1883, Mr. Hettrick says: "I thank you, beloved friends, for all the varied kindness I have received at your hands." The dismissing council put upon the record the following minute: "In dismiss- ing Brother Hettrick we would cordially commend him to the churches as an able and faithful minister, whose pastorate of nearly seven years has been abundantly blessed.'' The church records during the five years' ministry of the Rev. Dr. Sanderson are very scanty. His labors began in 1873. Possibly the church assumed too great a burden in guaranteeing a salary of $2,000 when it had paid in the past not more than $1,200. It was said of our early ancestors : They reverence their priest, but disagreeing In price or creed, dismiss him without fear. There is something of the ancestral spirit still alive in the churches of our order. Dr. Sanderson has for some years past been the able and successful editor of the Pulpit Treasury and Evangelical Monthly of Religious Thought. For the two years following Dr. Sanderson's dismissal the pulpit was supplied a portion of the time by Rev. Mr. Hammond. June 4th, 1879, the church extended a call to the Rev. B. F. Bradford of Darien. This call was declined. During this year important changes and improvements were made in the interior of the church building. The pulpit platform was built forward and the organ moved from its lofty perch in the rear gallery to the recess back of the pulpit. Rev. Wil- liam Hart was acting pastor during the years 1880 to 1881. January 1st, 1883, there began a pastorate which is fondly cherished in the memory of all, and which was most productive of blessed results. Rev. John E. Tuttle was ordained and installed pastor of the Church May 22, 1883. He came to the church a young man with a mind richly furnished and with a heart aglow with Christian zeal. From the beginning of his labors here, he revealed himself to the church and community as a man thoroughly consecrated to his work. Earnest prayers and efforts prepared the way for a remarkable revival in 1887, when at a single communion service in May forty communicants were received into the church en confession of their faith. This is the largest number ever united with the church at one time. How many 05 remember that day, and I trust will remember it with joy as long as they live ! At the end of five years Mr. Tuttle resigned his pastorate in the midst of his popularity and usefulness 1o accept an urgent call to a larger field in Jamaica Plain, Mass.. Mr. Tuttle was the first pastor to occupy the Ebenezer Jesup homestead as a parsonage. Mr. Morris K. Jesup, a native of this village and whose honored ancestors were largely instrumental in forming the church, purchased and deeded this valuable property to the Society in 1884. His thoughtful and generous gift has been appreciated by the parish and certainly most of all by those who have been privileged to occupy the pleasant and commodious building. It would be unbecoming for the writer of this sketch to make minute references to the successes or failures in the present pastorate. It began more than twelve years ago, and has exceeded in length any that have pre- ceded it. It began under favorable auspices, which seemed to have been continuous. There have been seasons of gracious, spiritual quickening, al- though no marked revival, in which great num- bers have been brought into the church. No year has passed without accessions to our member- ship, and during the twelve years one hundred and fif- teen in all have joined the church by letter and confes- sion. Meantime the same fact must be noted that death and other causes have removed about an equal number. Ours is now the problem of the country church in a com- munity where the character of the population has greatly changed during the last decade. The old New England and Protestant element is being supplanted by foreigners of different faith or no faith. Our work has not been confined to this community alone, and on an average the church has given over $400 each year for the sup- port of missions in our own and foreign lands. In the care and provision for our church home there has been a commendable interest and pride. Three years ago the interior of the building was thoroughly renovated and redecorated at a cost of nearly $2,000. This year it has been newly painted, greatly improving its outward appearance. In 1894 a new organ was purchased at a cost of $1,800. Electric lighting was introduced about the time that it was brought to the town. These addi- tional expenses from time to time have been cheerfully and courageously met and we are free from the burden of debt. It is worthy of note that two of the original V* members left in their wills bequests in aid of the church. These were Thomas F. Rowland and Charlotte Jesup. Mr. Richard Stephenson also, though never a member of the church, was interested in her welfare, as evidenced by a parting gift to help forward the work. One of our members still living, Miss Eliza Gorham, has generously i given $1,000 as a fund to aid in defraying its annual i expenses. I mention the above gracious deeds as not only worthy of note, but of imitation, by such as would thus seek to perpetuate their good works through all the j coming years. I think more of the noble self-sacrificing1 men and women who wrought in laying the foundation and carrying forward the work of this ,church since be- coming more familiar with their history. I think more of the possibilities and responsibilities which rest upon us who are living in these days of light and wondrous privilege to make history during the days of our steward- ship that shall be worthy of record and reciting in the years to come. Our church stands with her white steeple pointing heavenward as an inspiration and a warning. She would warn us against sin and worldli- ness. She would inspire us to nobler living and to emu- late that which was truest and best in our Christian ancestors, and to cherish more dearly our Christian heritage. 97 SECOND DAY, SEPTEMBER TENTH HIS morning was set apart for the exercises in the various public schools of the town and was gener- ally observed. The afternoon at the armory was also devoted to a gather- ing of the school children for a general reception and historical addresses. The evening was set apart for historical tableaux. The morning hours in the schools were made inter- esting by a series of addresses on historical subjects. We are obliged to be content with a summary: FRANKLIN SCHOOL. The exercises in this school were attended by the high school pupils as well as those of the school itself. The two speakers were School Committeeman A. Blan- chard and Rev. Charles M. Selleck. The songs by the pupils were Adams's "Holy City," Sousa's "Stars arid Stripes Forever." and "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean." Mr. Blanchard first spoke of the two schools in the district, the Old Well, which was located near the pre- sent Congregational Church, and the Flax Hill school NsOn the site of the watering trough at the juncture of West ' and Lowe streets. Mr. Blanchard said that in 1853 the two districts presented a petition to the school society of the town, asking that they be made one district. This was done, and the district was accordingly called the Union School District. The officers elected were Mat- thew Wilcox, clerk ; Burr Nash, Willis Craw and Eben Hill, committee; William H. Benedict, treasurer, and Daniel Benedict, collector. At the start the Old Well school was sold for $350 and an acre of land bought for $1,075. The district was incorporated by the Legislature in 1855. The children at this time all had to pay tuition to the district. In cases where it was impossible the town paid it. The rates varied in the different grades and at different times. It was from $ .90 in the primary to $5 in the high school every twelve months. This custom was later abolished by the Legislature. Matthew Wilcox was finally succeeded as clerk by William Henry Benedict, who also served long and faithfully. In i860 the principal got $800 and the four assistants together $1,400. In 1864 $1,150 was collected from the pupils. On June 25, 1870, after much discus- sion, it was voted to build the Concord street school. The building cost $9,895.86. There were 758 pupils in the district at this time. Two years later the matter of enlarging the Franklin street school was agitated. At this time it might be mentioned that one janitor got $210 and the other $150 per year. At a meeting held May 12, 1873, on motion of John D. Bouton, it was voted to sell the old Union school house at public auction and to build a new one at a cost not to exceed $35,000. This was rescinded at the next meeting and the old school was entirely remodeled at a tost of $17,715. In 1873 the district was enlarged by the taking in of Graniteville. Next came the enlargement of the Concord street building, which cost $12,000 and then the enlargement and improvement of the Union school, which cost $35,000. At present there are thirty-five teachers employed in the district and an enumeration of 1,666 pupils. The yearly expense of the district is $20,000. Rev. Mr. Selleck was then introduced. All were eager to hear what he would have to say, and when he arose to deliver his address a pin could have been heard to fall anywhere in the room. He said that he felt proud to be able to be before them to-day, and first he wished to say that he listened with deep interest to the discourse concerning the stations of this school district. "Norwalk is passing through great days," said he. "This is a great celebration, and I do not believe that our people really appreciate it. We are now celebrating our ances- tors, so to speak. That might sound like Chinese, but I ! consider that it is a very important lesson. I find that a person who is not proud of his ancestry has no ancestry to be proud of. Norwalk has a proud ancestry."