This property was owned by the Havre de Grace Water Company in 1927 when it was sold by its President, Carroll Albaugh (1880-1930), to its Secretary, George W. Albaugh of Carroll County. George Albaugh was an entrepreneur and co-owner of the Albaugh and Babylon Grocery Company. From 1908 until his death George lived with his family in their home “Emerald Hill,” which later became City Hall in Westminster, Maryland. George Albaugh’s Executor sold this property in 1940 to Christopher J. Rosemer (1891-1955), who most likely constructed this current building.

#419-421: Several businesses have operated on the ground floor of these premises. From 1940 to 1954 Chris J. Rosemer Plumbing and Heating operated here. Herman P. Fritsche, Sr. and Naomi A. Fritsche then bought the building and continued the Rosemer business, with the addition of remodeling of kitchens and bathrooms and also sold Aqua-Guard water-repellant paints. Stan Rodia, who grew up across the street from here, says he spent a lot of time with Herman “Sonny” Fritsche, Jr., when they were growing up, adding that they did such crazy things he’s lucky to still be alive!

Another store here was Atomic TV Sales and Service, run by Lambert and Doris Babec for whom Karen Hinckle-Golumbek worked in the 1970s. In 1988 River City Antiques were here; in 1996 it was P.J. & Company. A few years later, it was the Heritage Tea Room where Peggy Brewer served high tea, offering 20 varieties of tea served with scones and shortbread in a traditional tea room setting of chintz, lace, and flowers. When that closed around 2005, it became CyberFire, a computer shop, and in 2014 it was the home of the Ritz Gourmet Café, owned by the late Stephanie Anderson-Costa, famous for her luscious desserts.

Having been empty for some time, the first floor became Bella’s Tea Room in 2018 when Mia Rosas and Al Rosas opened it with scones, tea sandwiches, and teas, again in a traditional tea room setting.

This property includes an open lot (2,021 sq ft) just south of #419-421 that previously had a small building where Sonny Fritsche had a TV repair shop. It was demolished in the late 1980s.

#423-425: In the 1980s, the first floor here was Old Line Antiques; later it was Encore Antiques; in 1996 it was Abundance of Class; and in 2002 it was Havre de Grace Antiques owned by Carla Derosier and Carl R. York. In the early 2000s, it became Rivers of Life, a books and gift store, followed by Charles Wallace Insurance. Later it was D’Bohemia for a short time, in 2015 it was Trinity Transition Consultants, and in 2017 it was Dip and Doodle Studio, but now appears empty. Nick Conits of the Conits Group occupies offices on the second floor.

These premises are now owned by 421 St. John Street, LLC, with Conits Group offices on the upper floors.

County Records
Built 1930. 5084 sq ft, 7259 sq ft lot, commercial retail store.