Religion, Cemeteries, Monuments, Statuary, Greens, & Outdoor Sculpture & Art

All Things Religious, Cemeteries, Monuments, Plaques, Statuary, Greens, Labyrinths, Outdoor Sculpture & Art

As you might expect from a state more or less founded by Puritans, we have a lot of interesting things in Connecticut that are religious in nature. A bit of a jumble below, with lots of crossover to other sections of CTMQ, but I do my best, y’know? Religious museum and gallery visits aren’t listed here.

Jump to Churches, Temples, Labyrinths, & Other Religious Things
Jump to Gravesites & Cemeteries
Jump to Statuary, Memorials, Monuments, & Plaques
Jump to Town Greens of Note
Jump to Satan in Connecticut
Jump to Painted Roadside Rocks, Public/Outdoor Art/Sculptures, Muffler Men, & Goofy Giant Things

Churches, Temples, & Random Religious Things

Russian-Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Union, Ashford
Christmas Town, Bethlehem
Oldest Theological School in US, Bethlehem
The Bess & Paul Sigel Hebrew Academy of Greater Hartford, Bloomfield (Moved)
The First Cathedral, Bloomfield
The Vatican Gardens Replica, Bridgeport
Old Trinity Church, Brooklyn
Holy Apostles College & Seminary, Cromwell
Cold War Cross, East Windsor (Gone)
Angry Hands of God Marker, Enfield
Shaker Village, Enfield
First Baptist Church, Essex
Patrick Baker and Sons, Fairfield (Consolidated)
Site of Trinity Church, Fairfield
Hartford Mormon Temple, Farmington
Mark Twain’s Pew, Hartford
“Our Lady of Hartford” shrine, Hartford (Gone)
Anshei Israel Synagogue, Lisbon
Lourdes of Litchfield, Litchfield
The Most photographed church in New England, Litchfield
Borgund Stave Church replica, Lyme
Three Hierarchs Greek Orthodox Chapel, Mansfield
Gingerbread Village at St. George’s, Middlebury
Lao Buddha Ariyamett Aram Temple, Morris
God’s Acre, New Canaan
Grace Farms, New Canaan
Center Church Crypt, New Haven
Sanctuary of Love, Norwich (Gone)
Plainville Campgrounds, Plainville
Abington Congregational Church, Pomfret
Trinity Episcopal Church, Salisbury
The Blake Center for Faith and Freedom, Somers
The First Presbyterian Church of Stamford (“Fish Church”), Stamford
Enders Island and Its Severed Arm, Stonington
Sacred Heart Church, Vernon (Gone)
Holy Land, Waterbury
Grace Episcopal Church, Windsor
The Oldest Parish in the New World, Windsor
First Episcopalian Bishop in America, Woodbury
Pulpit Rock, Woodstock

EarthenStone Labyrinth at One World Wellness, East Haven
Holy Family Retreat Labyrinth, Farmington
Spirit Collage Labyrinth, Goshen
Asylum Hill Congregational Church (McKeith Hall), Hartford
Wisdom House Retreat Center Labyrinth, Litchfield
Mercy by the Sea Labyrinth, Madison
Wesleyan Labyrinth, Middletown
The Way of the Labyrinth, Stonington
Quintessential Gardens Labyrinth, Thompson
The Hill Church Labyrinth at First Congregational Church, Woodstock

CTMQ-Worthy Gravesites & Cemeteries

Lucas Douglass’s Grave, Ashford
Barkhamsted Lighthouse, Barkhamsted
PT Barnum and Tom Thumb Graves, Bridgeport
Cleveland Cemetery, Canterbury
Henry Obookiah’s Cenotaph, Cornwall
Old Derby Uptown Burying Ground
Shaker Cemetery, Enfield
Ancient Burying Ground of Hartford
Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford
Grave of French Soldier, Lebanon
Joseph Barratt’s Grave, Middletown
Thomas Mutter’s Grave, Middletown
Fort Shantok Mohegan Burial Grounds, Montville
Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven
Uncas’s Grave, Norwich
Giant Tree Grave Marker, Norwich
Old CT State Prison cemetery, Wethersfield
Oldest Legible Grave in US, Palisado Cemetery, Windsor

Statuary, Memorials, Monuments, & Plaques

Pork Hollow, Ansonia
James MacDonald Avon Mountain Memorial, Avon
First US Civil War Monument , Berlin
PT Barnum Statue, Bethel
Abraham Lincoln Speech Plaque, Bridgeport
Henry Bergh Monument, Bridgeport
James O’Rourke Statue Bridgeport
Gustave Whitehead Fountain Memorial, Bridgeport
Lewis Latimer Statue, Bridgeport
PT Barnum Statue at Seaside Park, Bridgeport
Israel Putnam Memorial, Brooklyn
Moses Cleaveland Birthsite, Canterbury
John Sedgwick Memorial, Cornwall
Hat Maker Statue
“Teen Girl Paul Revere” Statue
National Humane Alliance Fountain, Derby
Lincoln Financial Sculpture Walk, East Hartford & Hartford
General Nathaniel Lyon Memorial, Eastford
Oldest Roadside Memorial in the US, Ellington
The Oliver Cromwell, Revolutionary Warship site, Essex
2nd Lt. Core Memorial, Farmington
Ernest Borgnine Park, Hamden
Abraham Lincoln Gettysburg Address Plaque, Hartford
Alice Cogswell Statue, Hartford
Confucius Statue, Hartford
Flood of 1936 Marker, Hartford
Hartford Circus Fire Memorial, Hartford
Hayfoot, Strawfoot, Hartford (moved)
Hunger Strikers Memorial, Hartford
Isle of Safety, Hartford
Rover Memorial Statue, Hartford
Samuel Colt statue, Hartford
Site of Stephen Douglas Speech, Hartford
Milo Coe Monument, Hartland
The Little Stone House, Mansfield
Henry Clay Work Bust, Middletown
Sergeant Stubby Statue, Middletown
Simon Lake’s Explorer, Milford
National Iwo Jima Memorial, New Britain/Newington
New Haven Holocaust Memorial, New Haven
Benedict Arnold Birthplace, Norwich
Dorence Atwater Memorial, Plymouth
Eli Terry Water Wheel, Plymouth
Ted Knight Memorial Bridge, Plymouth
Brownstone Arch, Portland
Bears, Redding
Simsbury’s first house, school, ferry, & Colonial Traineband Field, Simsbury
Charles Dow Birthplace, Sterling
Shakespeare-on-Stratford Statue, Stratford
The Bunny Fountain, Trumbull
Cogswell Memorial Fountain, Vernon
George Washington in his Masonic garb statue, Wallingford
Radium Girls Memorial Way, Waterbury
Welton Horse Fountain, Waterbury
Lt. (Rev.) Thomas Michael Conway Memorial, Waterbury
The Leslie Knope Promenade, West Hartford
Adjutant William Campbell Monument, West Haven
Minuteman Statue, Westport
The frogs of Frog Bridge, Windham
Crazy John Mason Statue, Windsor
Orenaug Park Stone Pillars, Woodbury

Town Greens of note

Barkhamsted Baby Green Monster
Guilford Green
Lebanon Green
Litchfield Green
Lyme Green
Orange Green

Satan in Connecticut

Satan has a huge presence in Connecticut. I have researched a bunch of these places and won’t pretend they all actually exist. But I’ll remain vigilant – The devil always shows his face at some point. Some may find it odd or uncomfortable that I have the devil stuff in my Religion section… Quite simply, without religion there’d be none of this devil nonsense. If you want to learn more about these places, I highly recommend Spooky Trails and Tall Tales Connecticut by Stephen Gencarella.

Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate!

Church of Saint Ann, Avon
Satan’s Kingdom, Bethany
Devil’s Backbone, Bethlehem
Devil’s Footprint, Branford
Devil’s Backbone, Bristol
Devil’s Gap, Brookfield
Devil’s Kitchen, Burlington
Devil’s Backbone, Cheshire
Devil’s Blowhole, Cromwell
Devil’s Wharf, Deep River
Devil’s Jump, Derby
Hellgate Road, Durham
Devil’s Hopyard State Park, East Haddam
Devil’s Oven, East Haddam
Devil’s Den, Franklin
Devil’s Pulpit, Hamden
Devil’s Island, Killingly
Devil’s Belt, Long Island Sound
Devil’s Meditation, Middlebury
Devil’s Den, Monroe
Devil’s Footprint, Montville
Devil’s Plunge, Morris
Satan’s Kingdom, New Hartford
Satan’s Ridge, New Hartford
Devil’s Garden Road, Norwalk
Devil’s Rock, Old Saybrook
Devil’s Den, Plainfield
Devil’s Backbone, Plymouth
Devil’s Rock, Portland
Devil’s Mouth, Redding
Tophet Ravine, Roxbury
Hell Hole, Simsbury
Beelzebub Road, South Windsor
Devil’s Den, Sterling
Devil’s Kitchen, Thomaston
Devil’s Dripping Pan, Thomaston
Hell Hollow Road & Pond, Voluntown
Devil’s Den, Weston
Devil’s Gorge, Weston

Painted Roadside Rocks, Public/Outdoor Art/Sculpture, Muffler Men, & Goofy Giant Things

Painted Roadside Rocks

Bethel Snake(?) Rock, Bethel
Drum Rock, Canton
Reptilian Rock, Colebrook
Frog Rock, Cornwall
Dog Rock, Danbury
Frog Rock, Eastford
Al E. Gator, Glastonbury
Snake/Turtle Rock, Marlborough
Eagle Rock, Hebron
Sparky the Dog Rock, Montville
Indian Rock, Oxford
Snoopy Rock I, Preston
Snoopy Rock II, Preston
Elephant Rock, Simsbury
Dog, Bear, Dog painted rocks, Winchester

Public/Outdoor Art & Sculpture

Arnold Bernhard Center Egg, Bridgeport
LEGO Bricks, Enfield (Gone)
Art Tunnel, Farmington
Carl André’s 36 Stones, Hartford
Windy Metal Garden, Hartford
Sculpture Mile, Kent
Sculpture Mile, Madison
New London Whale Tail, New London
WPA Murals, New London
WPA Murals, Norwalk
Paper Airplane #2, Putnam
Tonka Tree, Redding
The Stamford Cone, Stamford
Lon Pelton Sculptures, Windsor

Muffler Men & Goofy Giant Things

Muffler Men, Cheshire & Norwich
Goofy Giant Animals… and Groot
Goofy Giant Chairs