The City of Easton has received a $100,000 Keystone Historic Preservation Grant to support the rehabilitation and restoration of the Hooper House, a historic property at 501 Northampton St. in downtown Easton.
According to a press release from state Sen. Lisa Boscola, the funding comes through the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s Keystone Historic Preservation Grant program. The Hooper House dates to the 1700s and was owned by Col. Robert Lettis Hooper Jr., who served as deputy quartermaster general during the American Revolution and used the building as his headquarters.
The city said the grant will support work on a structure that has been unoccupied for decades. Planned construction includes repointing the masonry because the building is not weatherized, along with roof and window repairs. For mason contractors, repointing on an older building puts mortar joints front and center, and it also ties directly to moisture management once roof and window repairs move forward.
The grant award follows a long effort by the city to take control of the property. Easton deemed the building blighted in 2012. In June 2024, City Council approved a resolution to pursue eminent domain. After an appeal by Rock Church of Easton and a legal dispute that continued into 2025, the parties reached an agreement in September 2025. Easton agreed to pay $350,000, and the property was subdivided so the Hooper House and the historic Timothy House sit on separate parcels. A zoning hearing board approval in December confirmed the subdivision, with Easton keeping the Hooper House.
PHMC announced that more than $2.2 million in Keystone Historic Preservation grants went to 38 organizations, museums, and local governments across 19 counties. The program requires a 50-50 cash match, and awards ranged from $5,000 to $100,000.
Read the full, original article from LehighValleyLive.com here.