Easton Historic Commission Blocks Demolition of 1776 Monk House for One Year

EASTON — July 13, 2026 — Easton Historic Commission votes unanimously to delay demolition of the 1776 Monk House at 91 Union Street for 12 months. The commission designated the circa 250-year-old Cape-style structure as preferably preserved at its July 13 meeting, giving owner Rick Lincoln up to a year to finalize plans for relocating the house on the property while addressing the fate of its historic center chimney — which cannot survive a move intact. Lincoln told the commission he may frame a false chimney and reuse original beehive-base brick if structurally sound, telling members, "I certainly do not want to demo that historic house." In separate action, the commission found a deteriorated Colonial-era structure at 64 South Street historically significant under Criteria A and C — setting a public hearing tentatively for July 27 at 6 p.m. — and cleared a circa 1920s brick boiler house at 104 Elm Street for demolition after finding it not historically significant. Neighbor Felicity Kagan of 75 Union Street urged the commission to seek National Register of Historic Places listing for the Monk House, which she said was built in 1776, the year of the Declaration of Independence.