The Church and the Cemetery

The Second Congregational Church of Fair Haven is a church located on Grand Avenue. The church was built in 1830. When the church first opened there were fifty-three members. Three were from North Carolina and the others were from the inner city of Fair Haven. The size of the church increased when people left the Third Congregational Church and started attending the Second Congregational Church. Within ten years, the Third Congregational Church expired. In 1890, the church name was change to Grand Avenue Congregational Church. On March 31, 1902, the church name was changed to Pilgrim Congregational. This church is a wonderful site to look at; it has green grass, beautiful brickwork, and a driveway that is cement.

Behind the Congregational Church is a cemetery that has been there for many years called Union Cemetery of Fair Haven. The graveyard was originally divided into eighty lots, fifteen by thirty feet, which were offered for sale for $1.50 and $ 2.00 dollars to citizens of Fair Haven, East Haven, and New Haven. This cemetery was built with stones quarried from red clay.

Many people, mostly seamen, are buried here. They once fished for oysters and lived their lives at sea. The first person buried in the cemetery was Stephen Bunnell, the infant son for Stephen and Patty Bunnell, who died in 1808. An important person who was buried in this cemetery was Herman Hotchkiss. He was the founder of Fair Haven. Behind the church there’s a statue of him that used to be in front of the church, then got moved to the side of the church for other purposes. In 1905 veterans of the Civil War who were still alive told their stories about the war, and about their comrades who were buried in the cemetery.

The Church and the Cemetery are important landmarks on one of the most important streets in Fair Haven. More people should visit these places, because they are such important parts of the neighborhood’s history.

- Edward Henderson