This area of land was heavily wooded when Jacob Hoke, Julianna Hall, and others sold it to Grafton Day (1829-1895) and his wife, Sarah, in 1860. Grafton Day was a veteran duck gunner and excellent marksman. The land passed to their son, Emory Day (1867-1941) and wife, Katherine, in 1917 but the widowed Emory sold the lot to Harry C. Lawder III (1909-1988) and Marguerite Lawder in 1938. The Lawders are a well-known Havre de Grace family who have owned businesses and real estate in the city for several generations.

The Lawders decided to build a home here and chose to order a kit from “Sears Catalog Homes.” Other such kits had been used in Havre de Grace. Between 1908 and 1940 Sears sold about 75,000 homes by mail order in all 48 states. The owner would select a model in a catalog and once the order was placed, two boxcars containing about 30,000 pieces of house would arrive at a nearby train depot. A 75-page leather bound instruction book gave precise directions. The pre-cut lumber and instructions meant that only an “elementary understanding of construction techniques” was needed to erect the house—“something a good handyman could do for less than $1,000.” The Lawder family purchased the “Lexington Model” kit and built the house.

The Lawders enjoyed their home for the next 10 years, after which they sold it to Allen B. and Elizabeth Amoss. Allen was a music teacher at the Havre de Grace High School. They made this their home for more than 40 years and it was sold by Elizabeth’s Estate in 1994.

Santo Cannizzaro (1925-1996) and his wife, Gloria, purchased the house at auction in 1994, rented it to friends for the next few years, and Gloria moved into the home in 2000, after Santo’s death. They previously lived in the Currier House on Otsego Street. While the family made several renovations when she moved in, the house still retains the basic character of the original Sears plans both inside and outside.

Gloria Cannizzaro opened her home to the 2001 Annual Candlelight Tour. Ivory walls and white trim were in the living room, as well as a painted brick fireplace. A screened porch was enclosed as a TV and family area and it retained its bead and board ceiling. A three-part window overlooked the sink in the kitchen. Three bedrooms were upstairs and the third bedroom opened to a deck. The home was furnished primarily with items inherited from Gloria’s grandmother. Gloria Cannizzaro still owns and lives in the home and tends the garden. This property received an award from the Havre de Grace Historic Preservation Commission in 2010.

County Records
Built 1940. 1614 sq ft, 1 bath, 2 stories, basement, 3600 sq ft lot.