Heritage Trail Guide

Stop #15 - The Connecticut National Bank (c.1959)

Situated to the north of the Stepney Baptist Church at 427 Main Street is the original site of the home of Hanford Hull, who constructed most of the Victorian and Italianate homes, located around the Stepney Green.  Two examples of Hanford Hull’s work still stand today, they include Browns Monument Works and Shear Magic Hair Salon located to the south of the green.

The Hanford Hull home that stood on this site was demolished in the early 1950’s to make way for Monroe’s first bank, a branch of the Connecticut National bank that was constructed and opened in 1959.  The bank’s first manager, Charles Wade, was kidnapped at gunpoint from his Church street home, and his wife were held hostage on April 22, 1963 during a robbery.  According to an April 23, 1963 Bridgeport Post newspaper article Patrick J.  O’Shea, a 37-year-old Fairfield television and appliance repairman arrived at Charles Wade’s home after 7:30 a.m.  and rang the bell, getting Mr. Wade out of bed and then showed him a revolver.  He then ordered Mr. Wade into the kitchen and discussed with him the time he left for work, and the time the bank and bank vault opened.  He then took Mr. Wade to the cellar where he disconnected the telephone wires and they returned to the kitchen.  O’ Shea plugged a bomb into a kitchen socket set to detonate at 9:15 am. and then ordered Mr. Wade at gunpoint into his car.  Mr. Wade’s wife was still in bed at the time and would later find the bomb and unplugged it from the wall socket shortly after her husband had left the house.  The gunman and Mr. Wade drove the car to the Connecticut National Bank Monroe branch in Stepney, parked the car in the rear parking lot of the bank, and entered the bank from the rear door.  Four tellers, Richard H. Roth, Mrs. S. Earl Harper, Mrs. Charles Kovac and Mrs. Robert Nichols, all of Monroe, were ordered to fill canvas bags with bills from the cash drawers in the amount of $65,285.  The tellers were then ordered into the restroom.  The restroom was left unlocked.

The holdup man ordered Mr. Wade to carry the moneybags to the car and to return to the bank and then fled in the bank manager’s car, driving north on Route 25.  The bank manager immediately reentered the bank and turned in an ADT alarm to police headquarters.  The bank manager’s car was later found abandoned in a wooded area off Hiram’s Hill road in Trumbull.  Patrick O’Shea had parked a blue panel truck on Autumn Drive prior to the holdup to be used as a get-a-way vehicle and walked over five miles to the Wade’s home on Church Street.  Before leaving the truck O’Shea put on make-up consisting of orange lipstick and white tape on his right cheek and flesh colored tape on his left cheek.

Patrolman Robert Wesche was on patrol on Route 25 when the alarm was radioed to all cars.  Authorities also checked local stores to determine whether materials used in making the three-pound bomb had been purchased recently.  Several men with criminal records “along similar lines” as the bank hold up were questioned regarding the robbery.  The bomb was an elongated piece of pipe, seven inches long and three quarters of an inch in diameter, filled with sand and black gun powder, and attached to an electric stove type timing device.  Police said the bomb was capable of exploding.

It would not be until the spring of the following year that O’Shea would be caught in Norwalk after robbing the Huntington branch of the City Savings Bank and would confess to the Monroe robbery.  He would later reenact the robbery with Monroe, Connecticut State Police and FBI agents.  The money stolen from the Monroe Branch of Connecticut National was buried on a small wooded lot off Tunxis Hill road cutoff, near Cedarhurst lane, Fairfield just a couple of blocks away from O’Shea’s home at 1265 Black Rock Turnpike.  Patrick O’Shea would often frequent the site always at night to replenish his pockets.  He last visited the location in October of 1963 when he took a final $6,000 and departed for Texas.

The Connecticut National Bank branch provided banking services for the townspeople of Monroe for over a decade.  When it decided to close this branch, they offered the property for consideration to the Stepney Baptist church.  With funds left to the church by a deceased life long member, Beulah Beck, and with the approval of the congregation, the property was purchased and named the Beulah Beck Youth Center.  In addition, this site afforded more parking for church services.  The building still retains the original bank vault, and one of the oldest original signs for the Stepney Baptist Church hangs preserved inside.

Architecturally, the building is a one and one-half story, colonial style cape with 6/6 windows.  Each window includes non-operational shutters.  The center entrance is typical of this type of commercial structure.  The building is sheathed with clapboard.