A Much-Loved Old Church and a Watering Trough for Horses
Ridgefield, Connecticut
The Methodist Episcopal Church had its beginnings in Ridgefield 1n 1787 when the first meeting was held – just 21 years after Methodism had been introduced into the U.S. from England. In 1789 Jesse Lee, a native of Virginia, was sent north as a circuit rider. His third sermon in Connecticut was preached at the Independent Schoolhouse on Main St. In 1841 a second meetinghouse was built, and in 1883 the building was moved back on the property where it was enlarged and remodeled in the Queen Anne style. The church was demolished in the 1960s and a new church built further south on the old town green.
The Watering Trough for horses and dogs was presented to the town by John Ames Mitchell some time around 1912. It stood at the intersection of Main and Catoonah Streets, remaining there until 1922, by which time cars had replaced horses and it was no longer needed. It was moved to Titicus where it remained until the flood of 1955 when it was again moved, this time to its present location at the intersection of Olmstead and West Lanes. Mitchell was Harvard-educated, an artist, illustrator and writer. He founded the original "Life" magazine in 1883. He died at his home on West Lane in 1918.
Marker is at the intersection of Main Street (Connecticut Route 35) and Catoonah Street, on the right when traveling south on Main Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
