A BRIEF HISTORY OF TRINITY CHURCH ON THE GREEN

Written by Heidi Thorsen, Updated August 2025

Beginnings (1723-1814)

Trinity Church on the Green was a community of people before it was a building, organized as a parish in November 1723 by the Rev. Dr. Samuel Johnson to guide Congregational New Englanders in an Anglican style of worship. Trinity’s first church building was constructed in 1752, just south of the New Haven Green on Church Street, on land that was once solely inhabited by native Paugussett, Quinnipiac, and Wappinger peoples. By the mid-18th century, this land was occupied by growing numbers of European settlers, particularly Protestants who sought freedom of religious expression. Anglicans were a minority among these Congregationalists; they were drawn to New England for reasons such as financial opportunity or a sense of mission, rather than a quest for religious freedom.

The Revolutionary War was a complicated time for Anglican Churches such as Trinity because of their perceived political loyalty to England. Like many other Anglican Churches, Trinity cut its ties to the Church of England and emerged on the other side of the Revolutionary War as a self-funded church in the American Episcopal Church. Today, the Anglican tradition still shapes how we gather together and draw close to God through the regular reading of scripture, an embrace of liturgy and choral music in worship, and the affirmation of reason and thoughtful reflection as an integral part of our faith. 

Growth and Change (1814-1859)

As Trinity outgrew its first building, the church made plans to construct a new one alongside two Congregational churches down the middle of the New Haven Green—a testament to the growing tolerance of varied forms of worship. This remains our church building today: a neo-Gothic structure designed by Ithiel Town and built in 1814-15, using the dark red stone from New Haven’s local “trap rock.”

The 19th century also brought major changes in the composition of the church. Black people, both free and enslaved, regularly attended Trinity on the Green. Notably, the last two enslaved people to be sold at auction on the New Haven Green were mother and daughter Lucy and Lois Tritton, affiliated with Trinity through the Tritton family, which owned them as slaves. One version of their story states that they were sold to an abolitionist and emancipated, though some records suggest that Lucy continued to work for years as an indentured servant. We continue to tell the stories of Lucy and Lois Tritton as an important reminder of how far we have come, and how far we have still to go in the work of undoing racism.

The Rev. Harry Croswell, who served as Trinity’s Rector from 1815-1858, was known as an ally of the Black community in New Haven. Croswell made regular pastoral and teaching visits among the Black community and became a strong advocate for the ordination of New Haven local Jacob Oson, the fifth Black priest to be ordained in the Episcopal Church. Croswell’s allyship had its limits: he was a fan of the movement to re-colonize Africa with Black freed people, but he avoided getting involved with abolition. Croswell was also the Rector in 1842 when Trinity’s vestry voted to require Black parishioners to sit in specific pews towards the back of the church. This decision ultimately led some of those Black parishioners to break away from Trinity and form their own parish, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church (now located on Whalley Avenue). Today, members of both churches meet regularly as part of the St. Luke and Trinity Reconciliation Project, a commitment of both churches to acknowledge our shared history and promote racial justice and healing.

The Beauty of Holiness (1859-1922)

While the external design of the church building always signaled its difference from the local congregational churches, the interior design became even more distinct over time as Trinity began to reconnect with its Anglican roots in the late 19th century. The Rev. Dr. Edwin Harwood (Rector, 1859-95) made several trips to England, where he fell in love with the Anglican choral tradition through hearing cathedral choirs. He encouraged Trinity to form a vested choir—and thus, the Choir of Men and Boys was founded in 1885.

This wave of traditional revival brought with it several physical changes to the church, including an expansion at the front to include a chancel with choir stalls. The addition of an “east facing” altar (flush to the wall at the front of the church), painted walls, and Tiffany stained-glass windows are other enduring features from this period. Altogether these changes demonstrate a renewed affinity for the Anglican tradition, as Trinity settled into a style of worship distinct from other churches on the Green. These physical changes also reflect a theological impulse to recognize God through physical things, worshipping God “in the beauty of holiness” (Psalm 96).

Recognizing God through physical things also compelled some Christians to be more attuned to social issues, in the spirit of the Oxford Movement. Generous donations from members such as Lucy Boardman (1819-1906) not only contributed to projects that beautified the church; they also helped to found the Trinity Home, a physical building for the care of aging and impoverished women. That ministry continues today through the work of the Trinity Home Board. These acts of generosity sowed the seed for our current outreach and justice work.

A Time of Expansion (1923-2009)

The 20th century was a time of flourishing for mainline churches in the United States, including the Episcopal Church. During this time Trinity was both a place of worship and a social hub. The Parish House, built on the corner of Whitney Avenue and Wall Street (active 1925-80), hosted sports games and social events, as well as Sunday School. Back at the church, Trinity’s historic Aeolian-Skinner organ was installed in 1935 and remains a model instrument to this day (with the help of upcoming renovations). Between 1961 and 1962, Trinity undertook a massive building project beneath the church to create “the Undercroft,” a basement full of meeting spaces and a kitchen to accommodate the church’s growing slate of community activities.

While maintaining Trinity’s centuries-old choral tradition, church members also explored new ways of expressing their faith through the arts. The Trinity Players was founded in 1975, with a mission to present the Gospel message in dramatic form through sermon dramas and standalone plays. The Spirit Singers, active from ___ to ___, brought contemporary worship music to Trinity. The Holiday Bazaar (later called the Christmas Market) embraced the talents of church knitters, crafters, and bakers to support its annual fundraiser on the weekend before Thanksgiving. In 2003 Trinity expanded its choral ministry through the creation of the Choir of Men and Girls, under the direction of Walden Moore. Trinity’s music ministry continues to grow and change, as a beacon of the Anglican choral tradition in the 21st century.

In the Heart of the City, with the City at Heart (2010-Present)

In recent years Trinity has embraced a new tagline, “in the heart of the city, with the city at heart.” This phrase reflects the most recent period of Trinity’s history. While there are other Episcopal churches in New Haven, Trinity’s location on the New Haven Green places it at the intersection of academia, commerce, and urban need. Trinity seeks to be a welcoming place to anyone searching for a spiritual home in the city of New Haven, from those who have no physical home, to students, and to those who commute into the city for arts and culture. Over the past 10 years Trinity has openly stated its welcome to LGBTQ folks, affirming that this is part of the Gospel that Jesus himself preached.

In 2007, Trinity’s youth group organized a field trip to the common cathedral, a unique ministry on the Boston Commons with a weekly church service and meal for people from all walks of life. Sensing a similar need for unhoused people on the New Haven Green, Trinity founded Chapel on the Green, a weekly outdoor worship service at 2pm followed by a meal. Chapel on the Green continues to feed people’s bodies and souls amidst struggles such as homelessness, mental health challenges, poverty, and addiction. 

From the bus stop to the choir stalls, Trinity is a church “in the heart of the city, with the city at heart.”

Sources:

Burkett, Randall K. “The Reverend Harry Croswell and Black Episcopalians in New Haven, 1820-1860.” The North Star: A Journal of African American Religious History, Vol. 7, no. 1 (Fall 2003).

Byles, Huntington G. “A Short History of the Organs and Music of Trinity Church, New Haven, Connecticut, Prepared for the 200th Anniversary of Trinity Church 1752-1952. New Haven, CT: no publisher, 1952. Project Canterbury, accessed Aug 2025, anglicanhistory.org/usa/trinity_newhaven/byles_music1952.html.

Getlein, Edwards. Here Will I Dwell: A History of Trinity Church On the Green, New Haven, Connecticut. New Haven, CT: Trinity Church on the Green, 1976.

Olsen, Neil C. Two Hundred Years on the Green: Celebrating the 1816 Consecration of Trinity Episcopal Church, New Haven, Connecticut. New Haven, CT: Trinity Church Publications, 2016.

Snyder, Jill M, ed. Claudette R. Lewis and Gloria L. Williams. St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, New Haven, Connecticut, 1844-1994. New Haven, CT: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 1996.