Parish History

During all seasons, St. John’s presents quite a picture, viewed across the town green. Its beautiful red doors attract the attention of passers-by. It is not unusual to find photographers and painters stationed on the green to capture the building and its surroundings

New Hartford was in the height of its industrial growth when, in November of 1849, a small group of town residents, including Hermon Chapin, approached Bishop Brownell of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut. They requested a member of the clergy to organize a Protestant Episcopal mission in Pine Meadow. The Rev. John H. Betts was called as the first rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church of Pine Meadow. The first meeting of the parish families was held on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 1849, at the school house for the purpose of establishing a church in Pine Meadow. The church would be located at the lower end of West Street (now Church Street, Pine Meadow) on land donated by Hermon Chapin.

The first Episcopal service was held in Chapin Hall on June 9, 1850. On November 21, 1850, the cornerstone of the church was laid. On June 4, 1851, the vision of the parish was realized. St. John’s Church was consecrated by the Rt. Rev. Thomas C. Brownell, Bishop of Connecticut. The Sunday School was established and first appeared in the minutes of the Annual Meeting of March 29, 1853. The Annual Meeting of April 18, 1854, first mentioned the founding of the Ladies’ Guild. The parish family, according to these same minutes, numbered thirty single persons and seventy families. An organist was hired, and Mr. Hermon Chapin donated a beautiful pipe organ. St. John’s was well established by this time and growing. But the strength of this parish family was set to be tested. In the evening of December 23, 1859, while Christmas preparations were being made, the Christmas tree in the church caught fire. Although the entire village turned out to help, the building, its furnishings, and a large bell located in the tower at the south side of the building were entirely destroyed. The new rectory next door was saved with difficulty by a bucket brigade.

This was a tremendous blow to a parish barely ten years old. But the same perseverance which originally established St. John’s resurfaced. Plans were immediately made to rebuild, this time on land at the upper end of West Street. This land was again donated through the generosity of Hermon Chapin.

The New Church

Services were again held in Chapin Hall during construction. The original cornerstone was moved to the new site with the words "Rebuilt - 1860’ added to the inscription. This building, our present church, was opened for worship on Christmas Eve, 1861. On June 11, 1863, the new church, now free of debt, was consecrated by Bishop Williams. In 1884, three beautiful gifts were presented to the church. On the North side of the Nave, two Tiffany-style windows were donated, one by Mr. Edward M. Chapin, son of Hermon Chapin, in memory of his father and mother and the other by Mr. Philip Chapin, in memory of his wife and daughter. (These windows are now in the loft of the church. See the Stained Glass section below.) A Hook & Hastings organ was donated on Whitsunday, 1884, by Mr. George Chapin as a memorial to his son. Built by one of the best American organ builders of the time, it has lasted well over 100 years, the original tracker action being retained. During the recent renovation of the church, the organ was removed by the Andover Organ Company and completely refurbished.

Beginning in 1900, there was a rapid decline in industry in the town. In that year, the Greenwoods and Pine Meadow cotton mills, along with the Chapin family factories, were forced to operate on half or part time for months, crippled by a drought. As a water-powered industrial town, New Hartford had stiff competition from towns with steam powered plants, and a migration of workers took place. Western Connecticut began a nearly seventy-five year business depression known as the "Great Decline." The Greenwoods mills closed in 1902 and moved to Talassie, Alabama, a loss of 700 jobs, with 400 people moving out of town within two weeks of the announced closing. The loss also took its toll on St. John’s which ceased to have a resident rector in 1917. It wasn’t until 1948, with the arrival of the Rev. Henry S. Douglas, that the parish again enjoyed a resident rector. During the flood of August, 1955, some lives were lost in the community and much damage was done to property. The Church fortunately suffered no water damage in the church proper. However, the undercroft was badly damaged and everything, including the furnace, was ruined. The Diocese responded with a gift of money and a new furnace. The men of the parish provided the labor to restore the undercroft to its prior condition.

St. John’s Church has seen many physical changes, both major and minor. In 1990, a capital funds drive enabled major repairs and additions to the church. The roof was redone, the outside of the church was repainted, along with the church nave and narthex. The woodwork was reconditioned, especially delicate work in that all of the wood had faux graining, a unique type of painting done to simulate wood graining. As the outside of the church was painted, it was noted that the cross atop the steeple was in sorry condition. It was replaced with a new gold leafed cross of Honduras mahogany. Other renovations included work done to repair and protect the beautiful stained glass windows by Lawrence Leopold, described in further detail below. Also, the undercroft, known as Sheffield Hall, was completely gutted and reconstructed. A new furnace and heating system were added. The completion of a new handicapped access via a lift at the south side of the church was added. The lift allows access to both the church nave and the undercroft.

Stained Glass

The stained glass in the church has undergone much renovation and even replacement over the years. The window behind the altar and the round, so-called rose, window in the loft are possibly among the oldest glass in the church, although we have no actual record of when they were installed.

The altar window underwent major repair in 1996, including replacement of a few broken panes and re-leading. The work was paid for through the contributions of a number of parishioners and the Vestry determined that the window would henceforth be known as the Rectors’ Window, in honor of all those who have led St. John’s during its history. Their names can be found on the plaque to the left of the altar.

The practice of soliciting many small donations for work on the windows was begun in 1995, when the Chapin windows, the two double-lancet windows now over the loft, needed major repairs and to be installed in their current location. One set of lancets was removed when the lift was installed in the early 1990’s and the pieces were stored in the furnace room. The other of the Chapin windows was in serious disrepair.

The two windows had been given to the parish in 1884 by E.M. Chapin and by P.E. Chapin. While the windows are in the manner of Tiffany, it is believed that they were made by either a student of Tiffany or by Lafarge, another noted designer of windows in the period. The faces in the windows are probably those of the individual memorialized by the gift of the windows.

When the funds were raised for refurbishing and moving the Chapin windows, they were renamed the All Saints’ Windows, in honor of the many people in whose memory donations were given.

At the same time two of the newest windows, those for Moses and Elijah, were created by Larry Leopold. The two figures represent the Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament. Most of the other windows along the sides of the church were created by Mr. Leopold in the 1970’s and 1980’s, because the glass in older windows had disintegrated beyond repair.

Another especially old window is on the side wall of the altar area. It is known as the Sunday School Window, because it was given by the Sunday School in 1887 as a memorial to The Rev. C. W. Colton a former rector of the parish.

The window over the organ is believed to have been given by a member of the Eastern Star organization, and it always seems especially appropriate in the Christmas season.

While most of the figures depicted in the windows are characters from the Bible, there are some exceptions. The two windows in the rear right corner as you enter the church are St. Cecilia and Bishop Seabury. St. Cecilia is the patron saint of musicians. Bishop Seabury was the first American bishop in the Episcopal Church and was also a resident of Connecticut.

In the opposite corner of the church is a window to St. Anne. Although tradition has named her as the mother of the Virgin Mary, , there is no mention of her in the Bible. Memorials to her, whether in glass or statuary, are more commonly found in Roman Catholic churches.

The Church garden was designed, built and paid for by Charles Gill and other family members and friends, and presented to the church as the "Alison Gill Memorial Garden" in May 1994, as a memorial to his recently deceased wife. Unfortunately, Charlie passed away in December of the same year, never seeing his garden reach the beauty and maturity it enjoys today. The garden was renamed in 1995 to honor his generosity and vision. The garden also serves as a burial ground for the cremated remains of parish members and is maintained year round by church volunteers and financed by a generous endowment from Alison and Charlie’s families.

In 1996 the property at the south end of the Pine Meadow green, formerly the Goetz home, was purchased by parishioners Licia and Mason Beekley and donated to St. John's. After extensive exterior restoration work was completed in 1998, the property was rededicated as the Licia House, in honor of Licia Beekley who had died the previous year. It currently serves as the Parish House and Office of the church.

The property at 41 Church Street, formerly owned by William and Grace Getchell and in later years by Alice Lovely, was purchased by the church in 2000 and is currently being rented. This two storey home was acquired to meet the future needs of church in terms of space for church school activities and parking.

During the summer of 2001 a new hardwood floor was installed in the nave and narthex and new carpeting was placed around the altar and organ area. Extensive research was done to be sure that the proper type of flooring was chosen in keeping with the history and architecture of the building. It was decided that wide plank hickory would be consistent with flooring used during the original construction of the church. The pews were removed from the sanctuary, and a new sub-floor was installed. The carpet in the altar area was replaced in the same red as the earlier wool carpet.