WOODBURY — Woodbury has many historical sites that one may visit. The Glebe House is one of Woodbury’s best known.
Through the Georgian colonial architecture and being a site of the first Episcopal Church election in the United States, it stands as one of the oldest historic museums in the country.
For the Glebe House to be able to be called a museum, there are numerous historical factors that played into the creation of one of Woodbury’s most prized historical possessions. Its connection from the Catholic Church and King Henry VIII to the Episcopal Church is a complex and winding narrative.
“The English King, Henry VIII, had broken with the Roman Catholic Church because they wouldn’t let him divorce his wife and marry his mistress [referred to as] Anne Boleyn,” said Steve Bunovsky, a former summer camp director at Glebe House and Nonnewaug history teacher. “He formed and became the head of the Church of England, replacing the pope with himself. Members of this church are called Anglicans. Later, during the American Revolution, the fact that the English king was the head of their church became a problem for Anglicans in Woodbury. They crossed the name of the king out of the bible located in the Glebe House and took steps to create and American version of the Church of England separate from the English throne.”
According to LoriAnn Witte, the director of the Glebe House, the house was built in about 1750 by the Hurd family. The Hurds had lived in what is today known as the Hollow, or Hollow Park, for about 70 years.
They wanted an elegant home to be constructed, which therefore created what is now known as the Glebe House. The home did not become a “Glebe” until 1771, when the Reverend John Rutgers Marshall and his family came to live there. Rev. Marshall was the first permanent minister for the Anglican Church — formerly known as the Church of England — in Woodbury.
The Marshalls lived in the house until 1786, when the house was sold to help fund the building of what would eventually become St. Paul’s Church.
The house changed hands many times, and the Episcopal Church in Connecticut eventually ended up as its owners by 1892. Although the church used it for a time to house retired ministers and infirmed clergy members, it ended up empty for many years and fell into disrepair.
The home continued to be known as the “Old Glebe.” Finally, in the early 1920s, the Episcopal Church formed a committee to decide the fate of the Old Glebe House. Would they tear it down and just create a monument to it, or would it be restored and brought back to its original beauty?
In 1922, the decision was made to restore the Old Glebe as it was considered the birthplace of the Episcopal Church in America. In 1783, the Reverend Dr. Samuel Seabury — yes, the very same Samuel Seabury as in “Hamilton” — was elected to become the first Episcopal bishop for the newly formed United States.
This election was held in Woodbury at the Glebe House.
In 1923, the restoration began and the house was opened to the public in June 1925. It is one of the oldest historic house museums in the country and will celebrate its centennial in 2025.
Anne Burr Jennings was one of the community members responsible for the decision to rebuild the house from 1920-25. Jennings became an admirer of garden designer Gertrude Jekyll. Jerkyll, a British horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist, designed more than 400 gardens for estates in the United Kingdom and has also written more 1,000 articles for magazines.
As plans for the garden of the Glebe House got put into place in the late 1970s, the garden became one of the only gardens created by Jerkyll that can be seen in North America.
“Our garden is open seven days per week, dawn-dusk, year-round,” Witte said. “Walking the garden is free to all who wish to come. The site provides the town of Woodbury with revenue as many visitors come from all over the country to visit the Glebe House Museum camp [and] Gertrude Jekyll Garden. These visitors, in turn, stay at local hotels, eat in local restaurants, and visit other local shops.”
Today, volunteers take care of this garden and museum and host many events, such as the All Hollow’s Eve event. Many local students volunteer at these events.
“Some of our activities and events have been happening for many, many years, and we just update them to suit the current times and needs of our audiences,” Witte said. “For example, our All Hollow’s Eve events are more than 20 years old. We continue to update and change the Haunted Museum so that it is different and unique each year. We also research past residents so that we may tell new spirits stories in the cemetery.”
