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Built by William Parsons in 1757, the Parsons-Taylor House celebrates its 250th anniversary this year.
The house, located on the corner of Fourth and Ferry Streets in Easton, has been occupied by Easton’s George Taylor Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) since 1906.
DAR, founded in 1890 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing America’s future through better education for children.
The Parsons-Taylor house is open every year on Heritage Day, and members of the community are encouraged to visit from April – October, when tours are given 1-3 p.m., Tuesday – Saturday. Tours are given at no charge. The house also is open to larger groups by appointment.
“Our chapter was formed in 1895, around the time the Parsons-Taylor House was supposed to be torn down,” says Anna Mae Boettger, chapter historian. “Well, the ladies went berserk and immediately went about trying to save the house. After talking to the mayor and other important people in town, a plan was made to hold the house for the chapter until they raised the money to buy it, which eventually occurred in 1906. The chapter began holding meetings in the house very soon after.”
Parsons began building the house in 1753, after being hired to help lay out the city of Easton by John Penn, a relative of Pennsylvania founder William Penn. At the time, Northampton County was new, recently split off from Bucks County. In this new county, Parsons and Penn laid out Easton between the Lehigh River, Bushkill Creek, and Sixth Street.
After falling in love with the area, Parsons chose the house’s current lot and, in four years, built the two-story Georgian style house out of native field stone and cedar shingles. The house was primarily heated with four fireplaces. The first floor is made up of a single large room, while bedrooms make up the second floor and the attic.
His health failing, Parsons did not enjoy his house for long. He moved into the house in 1757 and died that same year.
After his death, Parsons’ widow sold the house and it became a rental property. It was still a rental property in 1780, when George Taylor, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, moved in.
Born in Ireland, Taylor came to America and eventually became an ironmaster at the Warwick Furnace and Coventry Forge. He and a partner eventually leased an iron furnace in Bucks County.
Taylor also was active in Pennsylvania politics. He was elected to the provincial assembly for Pennsylvania in 1764, and then reelected for the next five years. He participated on the committee to draft the instructions of Pennsylvania delegates to the first Continental Congress, a member of the Committee of Correspondence, and Committee of Safety.
In 1775, he was appointed a delegate to the Continental Congress to replace a member of the Pennsylvania delegation who refused to support independence. While he did not arrive on time to vote for independence, he did sign the Declaration of Independence. He retired from Congress in 1777 and settled in Easton.
After spending only one year in the Parsons-Taylor House, Taylor died in 1781 and was buried in Easton Cemetery.
When the house was renovated in 1906, the entire floor on the first level was replaced due to the previous occupation of several butchers. A wall was also torn out to make the first floor one large room and a fireplace was removed.
While the house still has its original doors and some of its original iron work, visitors won’t find an exact replica of Parsons’ creation. Due to its previous rental property status, the house has none of its original furnishings. DAR does have George Taylor’s card table, however, which was given to the chapter by his great granddaughter.
“We’re very proud of the house and are always happy to have people come and see it,” says Boettger.