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(Return to index) by Joel Leneker  "You are standing on a "Place of Parade" for "Publick Use" established in 1817, now known as the Stepney Green" will read an interpretive panel on the Stepney Heritage Trail kiosk in 2006. The panel continues to read" ...the Stepney Green serves as your trailhead to the Stepney Heritage Trail. It is the site of an August 24, 1861 peace rally held where local pacifists called "Copperheads" protested the outbreak of the Civil War. P.T. Barnum and Elias Howe, Jr. arrived in the night by train with a group of hired ruffians and broke up the rally. We invite you to travel the Stepney Heritage Trail and to learn more about our local Stepney history. Individual sites have been marked either with a freestanding site marker or an oval building marker for easy identification. The oval markers are located on the street side of each property near a main entrance or at the peak of a building's gabled roof. These markers will help you identify the significant architecture and history of Native Americans, colonists, immigrants, and other ethnic groups that are a part of the community's history. Please enjoy your journey throughout Stepney. "
The history of modern-day Stepney (including areas earlier known as Birdsey's Plain, Upper Stepney and Lower Stepney) as does the Town of Monroe itself begins in the "mother town" of Stratford founded in 1639. Monroe was originally the northern part of the town of Stratford. The modern-day Monroe area become part of the town of Stratford on May 17, 1671, when Stratford leaders purchased the hereditary claims to the area from the Paugusset Indians in the White Hills Purchase. 
Settlement of today's Monroe didn't begin until the early 1700s, when the sons and grandsons of Stratford's founding fathers moved north in search of new land. By 1717 there were enough permanent residents in the northeastern part of Stratford to justify establishing a separate ecclesiastical society, called Ripton. In 1744 the Connecticut General Assembly organized the northwestern part of Stratford into the North Stratford ecclesiastical society. In 1762 the boundaries of what would become the town of Monroe were finally established. That year inhabitants of the northern sections of the Ripton and North Stratford ecclesiastical societies successfully petitioned the Connecticut General Court to establish them as a new, separate religious society, called New Stratford. But another six decades would pass before New Stratford attained the status of a fully independent town rather than a religious society. In 1789 the New Stratford and Ripton societies were taken from Stratford to create the new town of Huntington (renamed Shelton in 1919). In 1823 the New Stratford Society was incorporated as the town of Monroe, named for James Monroe, then president of the United States. Commerce Flourishes Farmers settled the area by the mid-1700s, but during the nineteenth century two economic "nerve centers" developed. This economic development was largely brought about by the construction of two turnpikes and the Housatonic Railroad in 1840. The nerve centers were known as Birdsey's Plain and Stepney. Main Street (modern-day Route 25) serves as the "spine" of the Stepney Heritage Trail connecting these two "nerve centers." Birdsey's Plain- A Village Prospers The construction in 1801 of the Bridgeport and Newtown Turnpike (modern-day Route 25) and in 1833 of the Monroe and Newtown Turnpike (modern-day Hattertown Road) spurred development where they intersected. This area was called Birdsey's Plain, after Joseph Birdsey, who settled in the area around 1780. The elongated grassy triangle just south of where the two turnpikes meet was the site of militia drills since the 1700s today known as the Stepney Green. In 1817 it was formally set aside as a "Place of Parade" for "Publik Use," in effect becoming Monroe's second town green and the heart of Upper Stepney/Birdsey's Plain. Birdsey's Plain grew into a bustling commercial and community center. Here were located two churches, Monroe's largest general store, cobbler shops, tinsmiths, and a number of large, stylish new homes. Stepney - Industry explodes! A little more than a mile to the south on the Bridgeport and Newtown Turnpike, close to the Trumbull town line, there appeared a second nerve center, called Stepney. The name Stepney was in use by 1740, but its origin is unknown. The catalyst for the growth of this area was the arrival of the Housatonic Railroad in 1840. Offering faster, more efficient, cheaper transportation than a turnpike, it spurred the development of industries that included milling and the manufacturing of carriages and shirts and the growth of stores. The Stepney Depot became the key terminal for the delivery of raw materials and labor to the region. Tourists and visitors from Bridgeport and New York City soon were stepping off the train in Stepney to enjoy the clean air and countryside. The changing names of Stepney The area of Monroe covered by the Stepney Heritage Trail has experienced its own succession of sometimes confusing name changes. For some unknown reason, in the late 1800s Birdsey's Plain came to be known also as Upper Stepney. Stepney was renamed Lower Stepney to distinguish itself. The name Birdsey's Plain eventually faded from use. Today the community defined by the intersection of Routes 25 and 59, Hattertown Road, and the green, originally known as Birdsey's Plain and later Upper Stepney, is simply called Stepney. The name Lower Stepney for the southern "nerve center" has fallen out of use. Thus Stepney today embraces both population centers. The next two editions of The Chronicle will include area maps, photographs and details of each site located in the two historical "nerve centers" that make up the Stepney Heritage Trail. On June 5, 2003, the Connecticut State Historical Commission unanimously approved the April 30, 2003 State Historic District report of the Upper Stepney/Birdsey's Plain Historic District study committee, placing the Upper Stepney/Birdsey's Plain area on the state register of historic places. This area is currently being considered by the Monroe Town Council to be designated as the second Historic District in the town of Monroe. The Stepney Depot located on Maple Drive serves as the apex of the second "nerve center" called Stepney. Citizens residing in this area have requested that the Monroe Town Council appoint a Stepney Historic District study committee, a decision is pending. The Stepney Heritage Trail identifies more than 24 historic sites and many historically significant residences in celebration of the more than 250-year heritage of the village of Stepney, located in the town of Monroe. The Save Our Stepney Task Force is currently seeking funds through grants and private donations for the site markers and an orientation kiosk on the Stepney Green. The Stepney Heritage Trail would not be possible without the efforts and contributions of the following individuals and organizations: Greater Bridgeport Area Foundation, Connecticut Humanities Council-Cultural Heritage Development Fund, DebraLee Hovey, 112th Connecticut State District Representative, Monroe Historical Society, Monroe Rotary Club, Monroe Town Public Works Department, Monroe Women's Club, Andrew J. Nunn, First Selectman, Town of Monroe, Save Our Stepney Task Force, Ed and Lorraine Warren, and the Werth Family Foundation. For more information or to make a donation to the Stepney Heritage Trail project please contact Joel Leneker at 203.375.0830. Here's to seeing you on the Stepney Heritage Trail. This article was printed on 01/25/2006 in volume 2, issue 4 Next article |
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