Page 45 - Wallingford Magazine Issue 54 Late Spring 2025

church, most especially that of the
contributions. An interesting insight is
provided in a detailed description of
what those were: “…which consisted
of due bills, clothing articles, woolen
yarns, bags of wheat, peas, eggs, and
butter, and very little money [my em-
phasis].”
Throughout the Connecticut colony,
this strict and, well, often overbearing
management was beginning to wear
thin. Congregationalism was found-
ed on the concept that the members
ran the church, that critical decisions
were made by members and passed
along to the pastor to carry out. This
concept was eroding, with ministers
making more and more of the deci-
sions without any participation from
the members. Additionally, each
church was entirely independent from
all others and completely controlled
its own destiny.
to be free from punishment for not either side of the pulpit was the seat
This independence was soon to end attending the established church, but of highest honor, the ‘foreseat,’ in
abruptly. In 1708, the colonial legisla- it did not exempt them from taxation which only the persons of greatest
ture in Hartford called for an assem- levied for the support of it.” But at importance in the community sat. The
bly of twelve ministers and four lay least there now was written law rec- magistrates and the deacons had their
people to gather to discuss church ognizing and legitimizing religious be- special pews. A row of square pews
governance, driven by what they saw lief and practice other than that of the was built on the ground floor, and
was a decline in personal religious pi- Congregational church. each was occupied by a separate fam-
ety and church discipline. What came ily. Seats in the gallery were universal-
out of this was the Saybrook Platform, Back in Wallingford, life went on. Rev- ly regarded as the most exalted after
establishing an oversight board over erend Street continued as minister the above-named pews.” How rigid a
the churches in each council and set- until his death in 1717. He was re- society of that time must have been
ting policy for each one in the areas placed by Reverend Samuel Whittle- is amply illustrated by this unwavering
of doctrine, worship and discipline. sey. In that same year, the people of adherence to such class distinctions,
The Saybrook Platform also essen- the town voted to build a new meet- no doubt handed down from the En-
tially transferred all power from the ing house of adequate size to meet glish society from which they had em-
congregation to the clergy. This plat- the Town’s growing population. igrated.
form passed the colonial legislature,
becoming the religious constitution of Construction started in 1718 and was The growth of population may have
the colony. completed in 1720. It was a far cry necessitated the building of a larg-
from the modest meeting house of er meeting house, but soon would
Needless to say, the complete loss 1681. It rose three stories, and was lo- compel two other historic changes.
of authority by members and the es- cated in the area in front of the pres- Please recall that the two land pur-
tablishment of authority from each ent church. It was modeled after the chases from Indian sachems that
church to a central body created deep church in Guilford as well as the “Old comprised Wallingford included land
divisions within the colony and with- South” church in Boston. A committee that would later be separated into in-
in many towns. Add to those rifts the had divided the town’s inhabitants dividual towns, two of which would
fact that the Congregational church into three groups for the purpose of be Cheshire and Meriden. And it was
was a state church that was supported assigning certain construction tasks, noted that traveling from those areas
by taxes on the entire population of and carried out the general manage- (referred to as West Farms and North
the colony, and pressure was building ment of the project. At first, it had no Farms, respectively) to attend weekly
for more acceptance of other schools belfry, but one was added in 1728. services in the meeting house was ar-
of religious thought. duous for people living in these outer
The year that the new church opened, areas.
To address this growing pressure, the another committee was formed to de-
General Assembly passed the “Tol- termine exactly where every member With the population having grown
eration Act” in the same year. “This was to be seated. “In nothing was the from 100 people in 1670 to 1,100 in
act allowed all those who dissented regard for wealth and position more 1720, it was now possible to address
from the worship and ministry as es- fully shown than in designating the this transportation problem. In 1723,
tablished by law, i.e., Congregational, seat in which each person should sit the General Assembly acceded to a
during public worship.” “In front on request by Thomas Brooks to allow

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