First Congregational Church

When you live somewhere for almost twenty years, there are things about your neighborhood that you come to truly appreciate. Across Bedford Street, I can see the stone facade of the First Congregational Church bell tower. Wedged between new apartments and bars, the church has stood since 1913, and it's been my neighbor since I moved in. The bell would ring at noon every Sunday, calling people to service. It might have woken me up on more than a few occasions.

In 2019, the bell fell silent.

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The church was founded by 29 families, who left Wethersfield after a split in their congregation. They arrived in Rippowam (now Stamford) carrying their church records in 1641.1 The new community built its first meeting house near Veterans Park. On Sundays, the meeting house was the house of worship. The rest of the week it was the center of civic activity, where voting took place and town business was decided.2

A familiar name appears in the history of the First Congregational Church. John Davenport served as pastor from 1694 to 1731. He was the grandfather of Abraham, who donated his north fields for what would become Northfield Cemetery.3 Over the years, the church moved six times. The final move was to 1 Walton Place, across from Latham Park, the town square.4

The building was Stamford.

A sturdy building made of a rustic stone facade, built to withstand change and storms. The bell tower maintains its thick square profile all the way to the top. The louvered belfry openings protected the bells, while allowing them to ring loud enough for all to hear. The cobbled masonry led to pyramidal caps, representative of the grounded New England aesthetic. The building was the fortress that anchored the town center.

One of my favorite kerfuffles involving the church took place in 2018. Stamford was hosting the Marilyn Monroe statue from The Seven-Year Itch, the one where her skirt blows up. It was placed in Latham Park and, well, she was showing a little too much to the church entrance. The pastor had a sense of humor about the whole thing and said maybe we can get her some pants.5 Apparently not everyone likes it that hot.

Copperline Partners purchased the church in 2019 for five million dollars, with the intention to turn the property into a 15-story, 224-unit luxury apartment complex. The congregation moved a seventh time to Stillwater Road. As part of the renovation of the property, the developers promised to retain the exterior of the church and turn the interior into amenities, including a lounge, shared workspace and a gym.6

There is one other feature of the church I've noticed over the years. In the back parking lot, there is a tree that looks exactly like a Weirwood tree from Game of Thrones. For those not familiar, it's a sacred, ancient tree in the show. The trees were how the old gods watched over humanity. They witnessed and remembered the history of Westeros. I always found it fitting that a Weirwood tree would be on the church's property.

The apartments have been delayed due to a 60-inch municipal storm pipe that runs under the property. The foundation cannot be laid until the pipe has been completely relocated.7

Which leads me to a thought: maybe the only bells the Davenports want in their church are in the belfry…

Not dumbbells.

Notes

1. Kiwanis Club of Stamford and Stamford Historical Society, "First Congregational Church," historical marker, 1976, Veterans Memorial Park, Stamford, CT, transcribed in the Historical Marker Database, hmdb.org/m.asp?m=38752; Stamford Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, "The Settlement of Stamford in 1641," historical marker, transcribed in the Historical Marker Database, hmdb.org/m.asp?m=38609.

2. Stamford Historical Society, "Stamford's Colonial Period, 1641–1783," Davenport Exhibit, accessed September 24, 2026, stamfordhistory.org/dav_colonial.htm; Stamford Historical Society, "A Brief History of the Town Halls of Stamford, CT," accessed September 24, 2026, stamfordhistory.org/th_history.htm.

3. Stamford Historical Society, "John Davenport, 1669–1730/31," Davenport Exhibit, accessed September 24, 2026, stamfordhistory.org/dav_john2.htm; "Abraham Davenport," Wikipedia, accessed September 24, 2026, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Davenport.

4. Kiwanis Club of Stamford and Stamford Historical Society, "First Congregational Church"; "Developer Wants to Preserve Historic Church, Add Apartment Building," Stamford Patch, August 9, 2022, patch.com/connecticut/stamford/developer-wants-preserve-historic-church-add-apartment-building.

5. Associated Press, "Some Like It Not: Marilyn Monroe Statue Has Church Venting," Religion News Service, June 9, 2018, religionnews.com/2018/06/09/some-like-it-not-marilyn-monroe-statue-has-church-venting/.

6. "Historic Stamford Church Sold; Apartments Planned," Stamford Advocate, January 17, 2019, stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/Historic-Stamford-church-sold-apartments-planned-13539254.php; "Stamford Church 'Deeply Rooted' in City's History Angles for a Modern Makeover into an Apartment Complex," Stamford Advocate, August 9, 2022, stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Stamford-church-deeply-rooted-in-city-s-17360033.php.

7. "Plan to Save Stamford's First Congregational Church and Build Apartments Delayed by a Wayward Pipe," Stamford Advocate, August 16, 2024, stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/stamford-first-congregational-church-pipe-housing-19610290.php; "Downtown Stamford Apartment Project Asks for Another Extension," Hartford Business Journal, September 2026, hartfordbusiness.com/article/stamford-apartment-project-extension-walton-place-prospect-street/.

About the Author

Paul Gerardi was born and raised in Stamford. He holds a degree in history from the College of the Holy Cross, where a Jesuit education emphasized ethical responsibility, critical thought, and the enduring principle of People for Others.

His writing is shaped as much by philosophy and history as by film, music, and popular culture — the modern myths that reveal who we are, what we value, and what happens when ethics quietly slip out of view. He is the author of The Cost of Being Human.

He writes weekly articles at PaulGerardi.co.