Virtual Connecting Cultural History: Historic Houses of Worship off the Merritt Parkway

Fairfield County's houses of worship tell us much about how local communities founded and grew.  Join the Merritt Parkway Conservancy for a virtual architectural tour of some of the most interesting examples connected by a scenic byway designed for "pleasant transit."

Wes Haynes is Executive Director of the Merritt Parkway Conservancy, a non-profit, member-supported organization committed to the protection and stewardship of Connecticut’s largest and most heavily used cultural resource.  This great public space is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a federally designated Scenic Byway.   Wes’ long career in historic preservation has included senior staff positions with the CT Trust for Historic Preservation, New York Landmarks Conservancy, Preservation League of New York State, and New Jersey Historic Trust.  He has worked on the restorations of New York’s Central Park, the New York State Capitol in Albany, and several Adirondack Great Camps, and directed a recently completed survey of 1,500 historic mills for the CT Trust.  A Stamford native, Wes has taught historic preservation at the Parsons School of Design in New York, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy and the Brooklyn High School for the Arts, and currently serves as a volunteer preservation advisor to the Mary and Eliza Freeman Houses in Bridgeport, Stamford’s First Presbyterian Church and the New Canaan Preservation Alliance.