23 Walks: Incorporation date, Town Center

The Governor signed legislation to incorporate Manchester as a separate town (from East Hartford) on May 28, 1823.

Our walk in the Town center will recognize the role of the Congregational Church in early government. The present building at the intersection of Main and Center Streets, is the fifth house of worship for this congregation, and it has been known by nine different names over the years. From Center Congregational Church, 1779-1979” page ix, “...the story of this church and the early history of the area (now Manchester) are one and the same. Records show that members of the Ecclesiastical Society conducted church business and community business such as setting the tax rate, laying out school districts and maintaining the highways.” Meetings often met at 1:00 p.m., and ended “with the setting of the sun.” We will also visit the former Hall of Records, constructed in 1896, which later served as the police station, now the Probate Court.