Our church started with humble beginnings. In 1867-8 the second meeting house of First Congregational Church of Wolcott was constructed out of granite. The original building was set back in the property and was later used as a library and the Wetmore School. A wooden framed chapel or parish house was built on the south side of the church in 1886. This building became Third Congregational Church of Torrington. On March 1, 1900 Third Congregational was renamed Center Congregational Church of Torrington.
Center Church has always had a history with the immigrant community. In 1884 Dr. Perrin originated the idea of ministry in the German Language, and this population later established St. Paul’s German Lutheran Church. Funds from our church (at this point still Third Congregational),
helped build a chapel for Fourth Congregational Church that ministered to our French-speaking communicants. They eventually united with Torringford Congregational Church. The chapel still stands on East Pearl Street as a private residence.
In the early 1900s, there was a need for services spoken in Italian and Hungarian. The Hungarian community had services at Center Congregational led by ministers from Bridgeport who spoke the language.
The Italian mission eventually became a part of Center Church, as well. They gave the church a gold cross for the communion table on the church’s 100th anniversary and the mission’s 25th anniversary. The doors of Center Church’s current doors are painted a distinctive blue in honor of the Italian community that once met here.
In 1979, Center Church was set on fire by two men who were trying to cause a diversion for a jewelry theft they had just committed down the road, and the church burned to the ground. The beautiful building, built of granite stone with a chestnut wood interior with stained glass Tiffany windows, was destroyed.
The church rallied and was rebuilt in the form you now see it today. Center Church was rebuilt in
two stages, first the chapel of the narthex and then the sanctuary. We are now an impressive structure that stands proudly on the intersection of Main Street and Church Street in Torrington, CT. We have three floors and serve as the meeting center for several organizations, including Troop 3 of the Scouts and AA.
As stated above, our doors are painted a signature blue in recognition of the Italian community that once met at Center Church and we are affectionately known as “the church with the blue doors.”
Services are held every Sunday at 10am, rain or shine. All are welcome. Please join us.
