History

Granby and the First Amendment — Part 5

|

Here we are at the culmination of our five-part series. We started with Granby’s Congregational church life and added the Connecticut River Valley’s Great Awakening, plus the church’s harsh response. This awakening moved to the Southern colonies, resulting in yet harsher persecution by the Episcopal Church of Virginia. Madison and Jefferson were instrumental in the Virginia Declaration of Rights in 1776, but how did their religious freedom idea get to be the First Amendment to the Constitution in 1789, 13 years later?

Salmon Brook Historical Society

Moving the Cooley School to the Salmon Brook Historical Society Campus

By |

For decades, the Cooley Schoolhouse sat quietly on the Clark family property, a relic of a bygone era when one-room schoolhouses were the heart of local education. Weathered by time in history, the building had a second chance. That chance came on August 26, 1980, when a determined community effort brought the schoolhouse to its new home at the Salmon Brook Historical Society, ensuring its legacy would live on.

History

Granby and the First Amendment — Part 4

|

In part three, we saw that Connecticut’s harsh response to the religious Awakening drove New Lights south for continued revival in those colonies. Back in Granby, a decade of contention by two independent God-fearing sides ended in peace under the guidance of a new pastor, Joseph Strong.

Salmon Brook Historical Society

The Weed-Enders House move, 50 years ago

By |

Fifty years ago, an extraordinary achievement took place in Granby when the Salmon Brook Historical Society successfully moved the Weed-Enders House seven miles from its original location in West Granby to the society’s grounds. Built in 1790, the Weed-Enders House is one of the oldest homes in the area, and its relocation remains a remarkable feat in local history.

History

Granby and the First Amendment — Part 3

|

In Part three of this five-part religious history series, we’ll see the responses to the Great Awakening by the Connecticut colony and by certain New Lights leaving and going South.

History

Granby and the First Amendment — Part 2

|

Last month, we experienced what 1700s Granby life was like living and chafing under a town government responsible for one’s religious well-being. In part two, we’ll add more local religious context as tensions become division in the Salmon Brook Ecclesiastical Society.