John Warner Barber’s woodcut print of the Congregational Church and Staples Academy is one of the most iconic images of Easton. Familiar to many, it is the earliest recorded representation of these two beloved buildings in the heart of our town. It captures a moment almost two-hundred years ago when this artist, publisher and printmaker visited.
Barber travelled to what was then Weston in June of 1835 as part of his tour across Connecticut compiling what would become the very first illustrated survey of any state. Riding in his one-horse carriage, he traversed what was then 144 Connecticut towns and cities recording what he considered to be the most significant views and structures to share with his readers. On site, he is said to have dashed off a pencil drawing that he would later embellish as an ink wash before finalizing a woodcut for printing. His process is well documented by his daily journal entries that he religiously maintained throughout his life as well as through his preparatory drawings that are preserved in the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History.
His illustrated format for the Connecticut Historical Collections was intended to help sell books and it was modeled after European guidebooks for travelers seeking picturesque landscapes. But Barber wasn’t just providing pretty pictures for an aesthetic experience. He was a deeply religious man and he often used his pictures to preach and convey moralizing messages. Through his images, Barber wanted his readers to discover the grand antiquity and unsung monuments of our country’s rural landscape so that we could see in them something of our own greatness.
When he visited Weston in the summer of 1835, it was a large town composed of two distinct parishes with two Congregational churches along with a Baptist, an Episcopalian and a Methodist church. Out of all the potential subjects for his guidebook, the most significant in all of Weston for Barber was that of the North Fairfield Congregational Church and the Staples Free Academy now located in Easton. Why did he pick this particular view? Well, as an Eastoner, I may very well be biased; they are beautiful examples of late 18th and early 19th century American architecture. But researching Barber’s archive along with those of the Congregational Church reveals some new and interesting insights as to what he may have actually seen on his visit and why he chose to reproduce this particular view.
The old North Fairfield Church’s meeting house dated back to 1763, but what you see today is an entirely rebuilt structure completed in 1836 and renovated again in 1870. While the replacement structure sits almost precisely on the same footprint of the first building, it was a substantial upgrade. The new building boasted a two-story Greek Revival façade with a decorative pediment, prominent fluted corner pilasters and an impressive three-stage staggered steeple that surpassed the previous tower. The height of this new construction must have been extraordinarily impressive, especially as it sits on top of a hill making it a prominent landmark.
The odd part about Barber’s Weston drawing however, is that when he visited in June of 1835, the church building was very likely still under construction. The congregation had only just voted to rebuild it on January 27th, and they selected a committee to draw up design plans in February. Afterwards, they spent a number of weeks traveling to different churches to find a suitable model. And to be completely clear, the church records state that the building wasn’t finished until May 16th 1836.
So is this view of the church fictional? Well, not necessarily. It is hard for us to gauge what point the builders had reached only four months after the planning committee took charge. What we can say is that Barber’s actual view in June of 1835 probably wasn’t the peaceful and rustic country scene that he depicts. It was more likely a bustling construction site. While this point has been previously overlooked, it is important to note that Barber didn’t just pass through the towns he visited. When he arrived, he took the time to seek out local antiquarians, church elders and town leaders who could advise him as to the most important history and happenings. Perhaps he met with the builder in charge, Captain James Johnson, son of the parish’s first minister, the Reverend James Johnson. The captain lived just around the corner on what is now Center Road and it isn’t too far of a stretch to think he or the master carpenter James Jennings could have shared some of the preparatory drawings for the new church. These would have clearly shown they were modeling their new building on the Saugatuck Church in Westport that was finished in 1832. Such information would have enabled Barber to have a sense of how he could illustrate his composition even if he hadn’t seen the completed building in person.
The fact that Barber most likely didn’t see a finished church is a significant revelation, particularly as he claims in his book’s preface that his images are “faithful representations.” Now to be fair, by the time Barber’s book went to print in September of 1836, his statement rings true. The church was complete by then even if we have no record of his returning to Weston to see it. But it is still rather remarkable to think that out of all the buildings that stood in Weston, and out of all the views he could have chosen, he may have picked one that didn’t actually exist!
And that brings us to the why? Why was this view so important? The answer I believe rests with the Staples Free Academy. Set across the road from the church, the Academy was just about a half century old when Barber visited. As one of the first educational centers in our country, it had developed into one of the most important preparatory schools for young men and, by this time, women. In his work, Barber meticulously details the design of the Academy’s stately two-story building that was also in the Greek Revival style. He includes the original bell-shaped cupola, surrounded by a now lost widow’s walk and its original spire. The care he took in rendering its architectural details is in stark contrast to the bare tower of the Congregational Church which we know from an early daguerreotype had an ornate belfry pierced by an arched gallery and was surrounded by a walkway.
And while the Academy seems no more than a small building in Barber’s composition, it is actually very much the focus of his reader’s perspective as their eyes would have literally “read” the road, following the image from left to right across the page space directly towards the school. Its prominent placement is visually matched by its significant mention in the textual summary about Weston just below the image. When you consider just how many distinguished Academy alumnae were Barber’s contemporaries, it is not surprising that he emphasized the school. Lawyers, judges, sheriffs, postmasters, politicians, professors of science, history and medicine all had their start at the Staples Free Academy and all of them-incidentally, well-read prospective book buyers. One of the Academy’s famous graduates was Isaac Toucey, who was Connecticut’s attorney general when Barber was publishing his collections.  Toucey would go on to serve as governor of our state, as senator, U.S. attorney general, and secretary of the navy to name just some of his accomplishments.
In other words, it’s pretty clear that the Academy was a building of such importance that any neighboring church construction project wasn’t going to deter Barber from illustrating it.  And by selecting a vantage point just off Center Road, he was able to pair together this prominent school and the church in a harmonious composition that can be seen as an emblem of the artist’s own personal beliefs. For him, the villages and small towns in our country were the ideal educational environment needed to raise students who would go on to preserve “civil and religious liberty” around the world.  Interestingly, it was said that when those who bought his book saw their old schoolhouse, “they stood two inches taller” with pride for the place they knew and loved as youngsters. Clearly, the Academy was a special place well remembered by its graduates.
When Easton was incorporated in 1845, its residents lost a sense of their history, in some ways, quite literally as many of their archives and land records remained in Weston. But in other important ways, the people of Easton retained a sense of identity and continuity precisely because the Staples Academy remained with them. It continued to function as an educational institution, an economic engine, and as a center for the nascent town’s governance and community events. As I joke with my friend and fellow historian Frank Pagliaro, the Weston Meteor-yes, the one that actually fell in what is now Easton-will sadly never be renamed. But on the bright side, the most important historic building in Weston’s history is a longstanding Easton treasure. The question that has been raised though as of late is “What will become of it in the future?
For almost 200 years, this building has served the Easton community as a school and as a church hall, but its grander history as one of our country’s earliest and most innovative centers of learning has almost been forgotten. At the Historical Society we are piecing together its past through newly acquired archives and we are exploring ways in which our town can help preserve this iconic structure for future generations.
Partnering with the Congregational Church of Easton, our Society will welcome representatives from Preservation Connecticut to the Staples Academy this Sunday, January 21st at 11:30am.  Preservation Connecticut is a nonprofit partner with the State Historic Preservation Office helping to preserve building throughout Connecticut. Traversing our state much like Barber did almost two centuries ago, their staff provides education, advocacy and funding throughout Connecticut’s 169 towns and cities.Â
Join us then please for a conversation with their deputy director Chris Wigren and circuit riders Stacey Vairo and Stefan Danczuk as they discuss preservation tools available to home owners and municipalities such as historic easements and the National Register of Historic Places. Refreshments will be provided and parking is available both behind the Academy and next to the Congregational Church.
