The village of Phoenixville is within the town of Eastford, and the Union Society of Phoenixville House is located at the junction of State Highway 198 and U.S. Route 44. It is a rectangular wood-frame structure, three bays wide, with a side gable roof and a granite foundation. It has two entrances, one in the center bay of the east-facing facade, and another in the south facade, in a projecting gabled vestibule. It was built in 1806, but spent many years as a Sunday School and social meeting space.[2] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.[1]
Mill owner Smith Snow built the house as a wedding gift for his wife. In the mid-1800s, a national Union Society movement swept the United States as an effort to teach children to read during Sunday School. At that time, many children worked 6 and 7 days a week and received no education. They were considered "lost souls." The Union Society of Phoenixville gathered on Sundays at various homes. The Union Society of Phoenixville House was one of the homes that welcomed everyone who wished to participate, regardless of age, gender, social status, spiritual beliefs, or ethnic origin. The formal Union Society of Phoenixville incorporated in 1906 with the mission of providing morally uplifting activities for children and families. In addition to the weekly Sunday School, many village gatherings happened in this building. These included pot luck suppers, wild game suppers, card games such as dominoes and whist, fundraising oyster suppers for the volunteer fire company, and holiday parties celebrating Easter, July 4, Halloween and Christmas. In 1918, 87 children received gifts at Christmas from the Union Society. The traditional gifts were an orange and a box of hard candy, but needy children often received a small piece of jewelry, a game or puzzle. Youngsters played croquet in a section of the yard surrounded by the foundation walls of a former barn. Starting in the late 1920s, the croquet court was lighted at night by electricity generated by a nearby mill that waw owned by John Smith, who, with wife Edith Wheaton Smith, lived in an adjacent house. Through the 1950s, children played croquet on the croquet court. When the Sunday School children reached the age of 12, they were urged to memorize the 10 Commandments, and when they could recite these Biblical laws, each child received a King James Bible. One of these Bibles has been donated by Mary Jezierski, who received her Bible in 1937. Mary was a resident of the adjacent town of Ashford, and was one of several children who were transported to the building for Sunday School. All were welcome. Activities continued at the property until the year 2000. In 2002, due to dwindling membership and maintenance challenges, the building was sold to the Town of Eastford. Currently[when?] it is undergoing renovations with the objective of reopening it for public use. The building is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places due to its contributions to the cultural heritage of the region. It is one of only two Union Society buildings still standing in Connecticut.
^"NRHP nomination for Union Society of Phoenixville House". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-01-17.
May 09, 2024
union, society, phoenixville, house, community, house, historic, community, building, hartford, turnpike, eastford, connecticut, national, register, historic, placesshow, connecticutshow, united, stateslocation4, hartford, turnpike, eastford, connecticutcoordi. The Union Society of Phoenixville House or Community House is a historic community building at 4 Hartford Turnpike in Eastford Connecticut Union Society of Phoenixville HouseU S National Register of Historic PlacesShow map of ConnecticutShow map of the United StatesLocation4 Hartford Turnpike Eastford ConnecticutCoordinates41 52 37 N 72 5 12 W 41 87694 N 72 08667 W 41 87694 72 08667Area1 2 acres 0 49 ha Built1806Architectural styleGreek RevivalNRHP reference No 07001247 1 Added to NRHPDecember 11 2007 The village of Phoenixville is within the town of Eastford and the Union Society of Phoenixville House is located at the junction of State Highway 198 and U S Route 44 It is a rectangular wood frame structure three bays wide with a side gable roof and a granite foundation It has two entrances one in the center bay of the east facing facade and another in the south facade in a projecting gabled vestibule It was built in 1806 but spent many years as a Sunday School and social meeting space 2 It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007 1 Mill owner Smith Snow built the house as a wedding gift for his wife In the mid 1800s a national Union Society movement swept the United States as an effort to teach children to read during Sunday School At that time many children worked 6 and 7 days a week and received no education They were considered lost souls The Union Society of Phoenixville gathered on Sundays at various homes The Union Society of Phoenixville House was one of the homes that welcomed everyone who wished to participate regardless of age gender social status spiritual beliefs or ethnic origin The formal Union Society of Phoenixville incorporated in 1906 with the mission of providing morally uplifting activities for children and families In addition to the weekly Sunday School many village gatherings happened in this building These included pot luck suppers wild game suppers card games such as dominoes and whist fundraising oyster suppers for the volunteer fire company and holiday parties celebrating Easter July 4 Halloween and Christmas In 1918 87 children received gifts at Christmas from the Union Society The traditional gifts were an orange and a box of hard candy but needy children often received a small piece of jewelry a game or puzzle Youngsters played croquet in a section of the yard surrounded by the foundation walls of a former barn Starting in the late 1920s the croquet court was lighted at night by electricity generated by a nearby mill that waw owned by John Smith who with wife Edith Wheaton Smith lived in an adjacent house Through the 1950s children played croquet on the croquet court When the Sunday School children reached the age of 12 they were urged to memorize the 10 Commandments and when they could recite these Biblical laws each child received a King James Bible One of these Bibles has been donated by Mary Jezierski who received her Bible in 1937 Mary was a resident of the adjacent town of Ashford and was one of several children who were transported to the building for Sunday School All were welcome Activities continued at the property until the year 2000 In 2002 due to dwindling membership and maintenance challenges the building was sold to the Town of Eastford Currently when it is undergoing renovations with the objective of reopening it for public use The building is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places due to its contributions to the cultural heritage of the region It is one of only two Union Society buildings still standing in Connecticut See also editNational Register of Historic Places listings in Windham County ConnecticutReferences edit a b National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service March 13 2009 NRHP nomination for Union Society of Phoenixville House National Park Service Retrieved 2015 01 17 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Union Society of Phoenixville House amp oldid 1068279076, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
