David Hoadley

David Hoadley achieved considerable fame as a self-taught architect with no formal schooling and though he was dismissed as merely a “builder” by some, others point to his genius in the use of wood for classical detail and his unsurpassed buildings, particularly the North Church on the New Haven Green.

Hoadley was a cousin of Silas Hoadley, the clockmaker and began as a carpenter and builder. In 1795, he designed the Congregational and Episcopal churches in town and, in 1800, the Col. William Leavenworth Mansion, which stood until 1905.

He also designed and built the Judge William Bristol House, facing the New Haven Green. Although the building was razed, the house’s doorway was preserved and is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He also built a house for Judge John Kingsbury in Waterbury in 1805.

Hoadley moved to New Haven in 1814 to build the landmark North Church on the New Haven Green. Hoadley also designed the First Congregational Church in Cheshire as well as churches in the nearby towns of Bethany, Orange, Norfolk, and Milford.

Hoadley was originally interred at the Grand Street burial ground in Waterbury. His remains were re-interred to Riverside Cemetery in Waterbury in July 1891.

His son, David Hoadley, was a banking and railroad executive instrumental in the completion of the Panama Railroad.