Easton residents are often surprised to learn that the town supported two independent Methodist congregations for over forty years during the middle of the nineteenth century. The one shown here was known as the Center Street Church. This building was erected in 1844 on land donated by Ebenezer T. Andrews. During the early years of the town of Weston, the road on which it sat was known as Center Street since it ran along the Mile Common which was then geographic center of the town. When the town split in 1845, the road then became part of the far western edge of the newly named town of Easton, and it eventually became known as Redding Road.
In 1866, this church merged with the Jesse Lee Methodist Church on Flat Rock Road. One minister then tended to both congregations, officiating at service at the Jesse Lee edifice on Sunday morning and then offering an additional sermon here at Center Street in the afternoon. This continued until 1948 when the Reverend John Crayton gave his last sermon here at Center Street before it was officially closed and the remaining parishioners transferred to the church on Flat Rock Road.
The property held two structures at the time of its closing. The church building was sold to contractor Clinton Taylor of Greenfield Hill who then converted it into the private residence shown here. The other structure housed the parish hall that sat behind the church on West Road. That building was sold to Samuel Briggs, who along with the help of his friends, dismantled the structure and hauled it piece by piece to property he had purchased at 150 Morehouse Road, where it was then reassembled and transformed into the family’s home.
Another great example of an early Easton building that has survived for close to 200 years thanks to some thoughtful repurposing.
