On May 10, 1722, the General Assembly in Hartford considered a petition from 34 families in the Northern Part of Saybrook called Potapaug and granted them the "... liberty or privilege of being a parish or society..."

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This action of the General Assembly in 1722 created the Second Ecclesiastical Society, the legal basis for what became the Town of Essex.

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The first Meeting House in Center Saye Brook, faced the broad green to the west, and was begun in 1725 and completed in 1730.  The present edifice, the oldest meeting house in Middlesex Country, was completed in 1792 and replaced the original Meeting House that was moved down to Essex Village to serve a s a warehouse near the foot of New City Street.

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When Congregationalism was disestablished as the state religion in 1818, town offices and meetings were moved west across the green to a different building.  The Centerbrook Congregation continued to use the Meeting House as a church.  In 1839 the interior of the Meeting House was reoriented to face south and the new Middlesex Turnpike when an entrance was made under the new bell tower.

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Today, the Centerbrook Meetinghouse has been recognized as an important asset for the Town of Essex and an excellent example of historic preservation.  Privately owned, the building hosts a variety of non-profit community programs year round.