In August 1889 the Mayor and City Council agreed to allow John Faust & Son to construct a shoe factory at 701 Fountain Street that would be exempt from city taxes for 50 years. It was renamed Faust Schocke Shoe Company, as shown on the 1890 and 1894 Sanborn Insurance Maps, but it went out of business quickly. This house is one of a few nearby Queen Anne Style residences that had been built for superintendents of the shoe factory. Still standing today in the 700 block of Fountain Street are the factory offices and the brick double houses (called Brick Row) that were originally built for the workers, since there was a shortage of housing.

In 1913, Harry and Florence Tayson sold this home to Robert Gambrill (1858-1941) and his wife, Mary. He was one of two brothers who opened the Gambrill & Melville Mills in the shoe factory’s vacated premises. They were the parents of Lenita Gambrill who, just one year earlier, had married Arthur Vosbury Vanneman. The Gambrills lived in this home until they sold it in 1931 to Sallie and James Milford Wardell (1888-1960).

After the death of James, Sallie Wardell continued to live here and divided the house into apartments. Upon her 1979 death, Sally bequeathed the property to Aderina Whyte Foy (1926-1989). Aderina and her husband, William Farrell “Bill” Foy, Sr. (1923-2010) whom she married in 1946, lived in the home. In 1986, they sold the 2,817 square-foot board and batten stable standing behind the house. After the death of Aderina Whyte Foy in 1989, the widowed Bill Foy Sr. added their children, William F. Foy II, Timothy Foy, and Sally Foy Wallace to the deed. William F. Foy II is known for running Sweet William’s Ice Cream Parlor on North Washington Street from 1986 to 1991, with his wife, Rose A. Foy.

The exterior of this property declined considerably over the years but several details were eye-catching, such as the corbeled-cap chimneys and some original stained glass windows. A formerly handsome Eastlake porch was in need of restoration. The interior had considerable original woodwork, including pocket doors, ornate plaster work, some original light fixtures, three fireplaces, servants’ quarters, as well as a slate roof. Following the 2010 death of Bill Foy, Sr., and some litigation, his children auctioned the somewhat neglected home in 2018. It was bought TLC Home Buyers LLC of Aberdeen who began the long process of renovating this home.

TLC rebuilt the front porch with Victorian corbels, replaced all electrical wiring and boxes, and plumbing; installed an HVAC system, white fence, new kitchen with granite countertops, custom cabinets, and new appliances; and created a master bathroom. In June 2019 TLC sold this renovated home to Abigail Georgianna Bingham, Director of the Cecil County Animal Services.

County Records
Built 1890. 2 stories, 1894 sq ft, 2 stories with basement, 2 baths, 10,500 sq ft lot.