The land on which this home was later built at the northwest corner of Girard Street and Freedom Lane was owned by Clemence F. Weber (1816-1887) when he died. Clemence had immigrated from France in 1828, first arriving in Philadelphia and then coming to Havre de Grace where for several years he was a shoemaker. He then became the owner of a large shoe store and invested in real property. At the time of his death (at the home of his daughter in Philadelphia) he owned 30 houses in Havre de Grace and left his estate to that daughter, Josephine E. Stephens. The property at 709 South Washington Street was another in the group that he owned.

Josephine Stephens in 1921 sold this property to John “Leo” Jones (1893-1973) and his wife Samantha Bradley Jones and it most likely was Leo and Samantha Jones who built this house. Despite the obvious importance of John Leo Jones (1893-1973) to the life of the African-American community of Havre de Grace, relatively little has been written about his life. Known in his lifetime as the “unofficial Black Mayor of Havre de Grace,” people affectionately referred to him as “Mr. Leo.” Stretching out over three decades (early 1920s–early 1950s), Leo Jones served as a loyal confidant to Clayton Stansbury, Sr., the overall leader of Harford County’s black community. His granddaughter, Elizabeth “Libby” (Jones) Stewart, lived her first 19 years in this home with Mr. Leo, her grandmother Samantha and her mother, Elaine.

Leo Jones was head waiter at the Colonial Hotel on South Union Avenue and was a good friend of Charlie Burkett, who for many years was the chauffeur of Frank "Donaldson" Brown (1885-1965) who built the mansion at Mt. Ararat Farm in Cecil County and was the financial executive for General Motors. The ties between Donaldson Brown, Charlie Burkett, and Leo Jones that existed in the early 1940s blossomed further in 1946 when Keene Brown, the son of Donaldson Brown, was seriously injured in an auto accident and struggled for his life for six months in Harford Memorial Hospital while family members stayed in the Colonial Hotel across the street. The relationship between John Leo Jones, Charlie Burkett, and the African-American community of Havre de Grace has yet to be fully determined. What is known, however, is that in 1944 John Leo Jones, a man of modest means, paid off the mortgage of St James AME Church on Green Street.

Two of Leo Jones’s daughters, Elaine and Reba, during this time went to work full time at the Donaldson Brown estate. In addition, two of Jones’s sons, Morgan and Reggie, worked as bartenders at the Ark in Mount Ararat Farm during special events. And Leo Jones’s granddaughter Libby Jones Stewart even recalled going to the Ark for a Christmas party with the families of all the servants.

Leo and Samantha Jones lived their whole lives here and raised their five children, and even some grandchildren, in this home. Leo was considered by many as the “Black Mayor” of Havre de Grace for his great interest and knowledge of the work of the City Council and political matters in general. Leo and Samantha were both charter members in 1921 of Evening Star Chapter No. 20, Order of the Eastern Star, of which Samantha was also Secretary.

Samantha Jones died in 1968 and three years later, Leo deeded the home to his named children and grandchildren, reserving a life estate for himself. After he died in 1973, it appears that family members lived here until 2000 when the Harford County Treasurer sold it to Frank and Sharon Duncan for whom it was an investment property. This home has been owned by Gregory M. Butler since 2015.

County Records
Built 1940. 4 beds, 1.5 baths, 1200 sq ft, attic, basement with outside stairs.