Just say, “That big white church behind City Hall,” to any Milford resident and they will know exactly which landmark you mean: The First United Church of Christ Milford. Grandly sitting atop a hill at the juncture of West River and West Main Streets, the building and its iconic steeple are featured elements in tens of thousands of wedding pictures, tourist’s photos, and at least one Hallmark Channel romance film. In late 2021, however, pieces of it were found on the ground.
“We all get old and fall apart,” says Bob Rich, church treasurer and long-time member, referring to the steeple. “It’s been 22 years since its last structural and ornamental repairs, so it’s time.” According to Rich, the steeple and belfry are predominantly made of wood, and their exposure to various weather conditions is much more dramatic than ground-level structures, requiring more frequent upkeep.
GNCB Consulting Engineers of Old Saybrook will work with a construction company to use historical as well as modern-day techniques and materials to refurbish the steeple, with the goal of keeping it safe and beautiful for the next 50 years. “It’s an extremely expensive venture for the church to take on every 20 years or so,” Rich says. The restoration is expected to cost about $450,000 and will be funded by private donations, matching grants, and other historical renovation grant sources.
The project has already begun with temporary bracing installed in January to alleviate any further damage before the total renovation in 2023. It will take two years to explore and secure funding for the restoration, which Rich hopes will be completed before the church community celebrates the 200th anniversary of this particular meetinghouse. It is the third since the church’s founding more than 380 years ago on the same site.
The church’s history is Milford’s history. It’s first pastor, Reverend Peter Prudden, came to “Wepawaug” with fifty-four families from New Haven and Wethersfield to found their own worshipping community and colony (now named Milford). They purchased the land from the Wepawaug Native Americans in 1639 and the first of the meetinghouses—and steeples—was built. The building was just “30 feet square after such a manner as they shall judge most convenient for the public good,” according to historical church documents compiled by Rutheva Baldwin Brockett, church clerk in 1989. The second building was much larger; a three-story edifice built in 1727 which, at the time, was said to be the largest in Connecticut (“150th Anniversary Building Sketch, 1823-1973,” by Raymond D. Cable, church historian).
The current church building was built in 1823 and designed by famed architect David Hoadley. It was featured in Robert H. Mutrux’s 1981 book, “Great New England Churches: 65 House of Worship That Have Changed Our Lives”.
“It is basically a rectangular shell with a shallow gabled roof which traces its origin to the New England barn. It is heralded, however, by an imaginative spire that dates back to Sir Christopher Wren and his famous London churches…”
Although critically acclaimed and nationally recognized, the steeple is most happily remembered by the brides and grooms who pose at the waterfall for their wedding portraits, and of course, the many church-goers who have memories there.
“One of my most treasured childhood memories is when my father took me up to the belfry, through the steeple,” said Carol LaBrake, a lifelong church member whose father, Peter Brockett, was a church moderator and a creator of the current wooden “urns” that adorn the steeple. “We went up the stairs without railings and over the catwalks and stood outside at the railings,” she recalls. “It was a beautiful, clear spring day and I saw the tops of the trees, the Sound, and Long Island. I can close my eyes and still see that incredible sight today.”
(ital)Donations for the restoration from residents and businesses are being accepted by First UCC Milford on their website: FirstChurchofMilford.org.
