The parish of St. James was founded in the 1740s by Waterbury's Episcopalians.
The land for the church building was donated by a town resident and was located
on the corner of West Main and Willow Streets.
St. James' church remained in use until 1795, when it was replaced by St. John's
church on the Green.
Lydia Porter was a devout Episcopalian; she would have encouraged Fortune and
his family to attend services at St. James.