Egan Homestead Recognized as Historic

Egan Homestead Recognized as Historic!

Thank you for your support—your letters and testimony were heartfelt. They made a difference! The Council voted 3-2 to deny the project which would have demolished the historic Egan Homestead House. Thank Mayor Mark Orgill, Mayor Pro Tem Hallie Jones and Councilmember Bob Whalen for their votes to accept

the appeal by neighbors, Village Laguna and South Laguna Civic Association. Wednesday, May 13 was a landmark day for historic preservation.

Esther and Frances Egan with their trusty steed Gill, near their family homestead circa 1920.

The Egan homestead is the current focus of our historic preservation efforts. The Design Review Board approved demolition of this last remaining homesteader house. An appeal to City Council was filed by neighbors, Village Laguna and South Laguna Civic Association. The appeal emphasizes the opinions of two historical consultants that the property is eligible for the California Register of Historical Resources, and the National Register of Historic Places, because of its local role in the implementation of the Homestead Act, signed by Abraham Lincoln in 1862. Competing historical reports, one funded by the developer, dispute those findings.

Learn more about the Egan Family and their homestead in a series of articles by Lee Hanson in Stu News. [LINK TO APPEAL]