Church Street

The traffic light marks the location of Hebron’s first and second meetinghouses (Congregational churches). In the colonial period, meetinghouses were considered the official religious and governmental heart of a town. Church and government were not separated in Connecticut until a new constitution was written in 1818 replacing the colonial charter. The location of the meetinghouse was a major article of contention during Hebron’s first fifty years since roads were built to connect meetinghouses and farmers needed roads in order to sell their produce. In the 1740’s, Hebron’s first meetinghouse was burned down as a protest to focus attention on the desire for satellite parishes to be established in Andover, Gilead and Marlborough. The replacement meetinghouse was built where the Route 85 – Route 66 intersection is today.

To commemorate the end of the French and Indian War, merchant and farmer David Barber and his 6-year-old daughter Patience planted an elm tree next to the meetinghouse. It became the focal point of the center of Hebron. The Hebron Elm appears as the central focus of the painting by Reuben Rowley illustrated above.

In 1904, the Hebron Elm was cut down.

Think about it

What might be a good symbol for Hebron today?

Where to go next

Walk west along the white picket fence toward #1 West Main Street.