Trinity Episcopal Church / Trinity Episcopal Church

The Reverend John O’Brien became Monroe’s first Episcopal rector in late 1831. Early the next year he and his small congregation began building Trinity Church on what is now Loranger Square. Funds came from Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, as well as the congregation. The first service in the wood- frame church was held on February 3, 1833. Before daylight on March 18, 1868, a disastrous fire that engulfed part of Monroe’s business district destroyed the church. The congregation turned to Gordon W. Lloyd to design this church, which includes one of the few items saved from the fire, the baptismal font. The cornerstone was laid on June 24, 1868, and services began in the fall of 1869. Trinity Episcopal Church features locally quarried Monroe Limestone and Sandusky Bluestone. The press noted “bright sunshine streaming through the richly stained windows in a flood of mellow light” at its February 1, 1871, dedication. The windows honor early parishioners; most were designed by George L. Burns. The three-paneled Smith window in the front of the church celebrated Major Henry Smith, who died in 1847 in the Mexican War, and his brother, General Joseph Smith, who served in that war and the Civil War. The Smith windows, damaged by a storm, were replaced by Tiffany Studios with “Supper at Emmaus” in 1910. The church added a parish hall and rectory in 1898 and the new parish hall in 1956.