The town’s Historic Preservation Review Commission is seeking state approval to designate Town Hall as a Local Historic Property.
“Easton Town Hall is so important to this community’s sense of identity and heritage that our commission felt it deserved to be noted as a Local Historic Property,” said Elizabeth Boyce, a member of Easton’s Historic Preservation Review Commission. “This term indicates that a building is significant for its history, architecture, or cultural significance. Easton Town Hall qualifies in each of these categories.”
Town Hall was designed by local architect Fredrick Dickson who lived in Easton and is one of the few surviving buildings he designed in Connecticut. Established in 1937, the single-story Colonial Revival structure holds many historic memories for the town and has always been a multipurpose structure. It is the first dedicated government building in the town of Easton. It housed the first public library, was the seat of the first and only courthouse in town, and the first police department.
Today, the building is the heart of town as it contains day-to-day engagements and special occasions like the gathering after the Memorial Day parade. It provides a sense of identity at the center of the town’s life, said Boyce.
Although the building is already on Easton’s Historic Building Inventory, with the state designation provided by Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office, the commission can seek funding to care for and preserve this historic building and honor it in a new and special way.
“If the state approves our proposal for historic designation, it will allow us to apply for grants and funds for its preservation,” said Boyce. “I think the biggest change is how this designation will help our community appreciate the building and its history all the more.”
The Board of Selectmen approved the commission’s proposal to seek a historic designation for Town Hall. First Selectman David Bindleglass supports the designation.
“Our history is something which we all share,” he said. “Preserving it is a common goal, and sometimes, we take for granted the significance of certain buildings. It turns out that the architect in this case was of some renown. On a practical note the designation unlocks the possibility of obtaining funds from certain pools for historic preservation in the future.”
