Heber Smith House
(c. 1790–Present)

Welcome back, Monroe history lovers. This week’s historical spotlight takes us just east of the Monroe Center Green. It is there, at 159 Old Tannery Road, that we find the Heber Smith House, just a couple doors southeast of St. Peters Grace Episcopal Church. Our first supporting image shows you the precise location. Ready to learn some new history? Let’s head on over and have a closer look, shall we? Let’s go!

This house was built c. 1790 by Heber Smith, and served as his private residence until 1799, when it was then conveyed on to new owners. In its original unexpanded form, before the addition of the second-floor gables, front and rear, the house was an example of Colonial Cape House architecture.

In 1853, the house was purchased by the Congregational Society and was used as a parsonage by the Monroe Congregational Church. Residential maps from 1856 and 1858 associate the property with Reverend Lewis M. Shepard. During its time as a parsonage, its most popular occupant was Reverend Thomas Tileston Waterman. It was the Waterman family who expanded the house and added the second-floor gables. The house was known locally as The Waterman Place into the early 1900s.

In 1917, the house was purchased for use as a summer cottage by Bridgeport industrialist and foundry owner, Willard Dwight Stanley. The Stanleys lived in the house seasonally until 1930, when they relocated to Monroe permanently. They then modernized the house by adding electricity, central heating and modern plumbing. Our second supporting image was taken during the time of the Stanley family’s ownership. The identical bronze WWI monuments mounted on stones on both the Monroe and Stepney Greens were both cast in the Stanley Foundry in Bridgeport.

The full history of this quaint house was published in a 1962 booklet titled The Old Parsonage, which was originally printed as an edition of 100 copies. Another edition of 50 copies was later published in 1972 as Monroe was preparing for its 1973 sesquicentennial celebration. The booklet was researched, compiled and written by Dorothy W. White. She and her husband, Henry B. White, owned and lived in the house at the time. During their retirement years, they established and operated The Pendulum Press, a small publishing company that utilized antique hand presses and typesetting methods to publish their works, which ranged from small books to the family’s annual Christmas cards. Evidence of the White’s former publishing operation is still found on the property today.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s historical spotlight on the Heber Smith House at Monroe Center. Please share this post with your family and friends, and thank you for your continued support and interest in Monroe’s rich history. Until next time, consider this. The Heber Smith House is one of three surviving houses at Monroe Center that have been or are currently being used as either a parsonage or rectory by three different Monroe churches. What a blessing!

Regards,

Kevin Daly
Historian, Monroe Historical Society
www.monroecthistory.org
Our Past is Always Present