Middletown's 'Hidden Church' is Found

In this morning's Buzz, you read about the different Congregational churches that were built in town.  The fourth one, built in 1799, stood on Main Street beside the old Custom House and the Middletown National Bank. It was a wooden building, designed by Lavius Filmore, and it was quite beautiful.

By 1870, the old wooden church was showing its age, and the congregation wanted a new home. You can see on the right side of the historic photograph, show here, the spire for the new church under construction on Court Street. When the new brick Gothic Revival church was finished around the corner, this old church had no purpose in the most prominent block in the city.

So the structure was sold and moved. Legend has it that the building was rolled up Main Street to the North End, where a spot was waiting for it. When they got up there, the oxen could not manuever it around, so the building was put in backwards.

I believe it was put in backwards on purpose to further separate it from its religious heritage by having the less formal and recognizable facade away from view.

So, there the building stands today, next door to O'Rourke's Diner, on the east side of Main Street. In the 1970s, it was covered with asphalt siding with a brick pattern and the original building was completely indiscernible.  It was remodeled in the 1980s and returned to its original appearance.  Take a walk behind it and see the original church facade that is in relatively good condition.

I saw last year that it was on the market for a cool million. History can be yours!

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