St. John's Episcopal Church (Hartford, Connecticut)

The parish of St. John's Episcopal Church, Hartford, Connecticut, was formed in 1841. Its first building, designed by Henry Austin (architect), was constructed on Main Street just south of the Wadsworth Atheneum in 1842. The parish left Hartford in 1907 and is now St. John's Episcopal Church (West Hartford, Connecticut).

St. John's was founded in 1841 in downtown Hartford, Connecticut in response to overcrowding at nearby Christ Church (Hartford, Connecticut). An activist organization, St. John's was instrumental in the development of other prominent Hartford area churches including the Church of the Good Shepherd and Parish House (Hartford, Connecticut), St. John's Episcopal Church (East Hartford, Connecticut), and St. Monica's, the second Episcopal congregation in the state for Black Americans. As the nineteenth century progressed, the western suburbs became increasingly popular as a place for city dwellers to live with the result that the number of St. John's worshipers was in decline. In 1907, financier J. P. Morgan purchased the church building and its property for the construction of a memorial gallery to be added to Hartford's Wadsworth Atheneum. The parish then moved to suburban West Hartford, Connecticut, which was undergoing steady growth.

Designed by Henry Austin (architect), St. John's (Hartford) was the first church building attributed to that prolific artisan. Having assisted with design work for the nearby Wadsworth Atheneum, Austin created plans for a church building with a seating capacity of 850. At the time of its construction, St. John's reputedly had one of the tallest spires in New England. The Hartford Courant, quoting Chronicle of the Church, described the building as "a chaste and beautiful structure in the early pointed Gothic style, built of Chatham free stone..." and its interior as having a "chancel, with a massive rail, supported by mullions finished on either side." Additionally, "there are side galleries, with a convenient choir over the vestibule, in which is placed an organ of superior finish and tone." That first organ was Opus 47, consisting of two manuals and twenty-two stops, by E. and G.G. Hook Organ of Boston. In 1861, the first Hook organ was replaced by Opus 295 of two manuals and thirty stops by the same manufacturer.

...
Wikipedia