'Turnback Tuesday' features first Episcopal Church in Valley

This week’s Turnback Tuesday features the first Episcopal Church in the Valley. 
Originally built on Elm Street in Ansonia (part of Derby in the 1700s), the church was located directly across the street from the Congregational minister’s home. 
The church was completed in 1746 and used until 1799. 
Rev. Richard Mansfield, who served the church from 1748 to 1820, is actually buried where the pulpit once stood. A new larger church was then built and dedicated in 1799. 
Sometime after this, the original church on Elm was moved across the street and physically connected to the David Humphreys House. 
In the colonial period, it was common practice to reuse existing structures, even more so than today. Interestingly enough, Sarah Riggs Humphreys, David’s mother, used the addition as a summer kitchen, and that addition still stands today.


Thanks go to the Derby Public Library for sharing this interesting local history each week.