Originally built in 1801 and burned by the British in the War of 1812, this structure was rebuilt in 1815 and spent 180 years as a pharmacy with a soda fountain and lunch counter. Green’s Pharmacy was opened by Thomas Sadler, Jr. (1834-1917), in the early 1860s. His father was Captain Thomas Sadler (1797-1889) who lived and died in Havre de Grace. Pharmacy ledgers exist with accounts going back through 1874—with recognizable local historical names such as Arthur Vosbury, and Abraham P. McCombs.

After Thomas Sadler died in 1917, the store was operated by John E. Green and his wife, Kate, followed by Nellie and Lyttleton Sadler Green (1901-1973) in 1932. Lyttleton was the great-nephew of Captain Thomas Sadler, who was a pharmacist and also owned the building. Nellie and Lyttleton had a son they named Lyttleton L. Green (1926-2006), but his friends called him “Docie,” pronounced Dockie. Lyttleton “Docie Green” became an accomplished artist later in life and some people in town own his paintings. He was also an excellent brick mason. Local resident, Jeanne Hawtin, has fond memories of visiting her “Aunt Nellie and Uncle Doc Green” in their apartment above the pharmacy during WWII. She recalls standing on the balcony each Saturday evening watching as the Salvation Army band played on the corner and “old Bubby Webster” played music on a washboard with spoons.

The Pharmacy provided a registered optometrist, Samuel H. Pine, in the 1920s who had 30 years of experience and Green’s Pharmacy advertised that they had “Harford County’s Largest Selection of Cosmetics.”

Around 1950, the Greens sold the pharmacy business to Jerrold Bress and Arthur Levin, who continued the store name. Cindy Lee worked there from 1980 to 1991 and recalls with amusement that customers of the Montgomery Ward store (then next door) would call and ask her to go there to see if their order was ready. The pharmacy business was sold by Jerrold Bress in 1992 to pharmacist Naeem Qureshi who operated Green’s Pharmacy for a short time. This was followed by a furnishings store called Eclections in the late 1990s and a “Friendly’s Ice Cream store” created in 2000 for a very short time during the shooting of “The Young Americans” film in Havre de Grace. The town was also renamed as “Gaffney, South Carolina” for a short time in 2012 during the shooting of the Netflix series, “House of Cards.”

2002 brought a major restoration by Stephanie Gamble, in preparation for opening The House Downtown, a furniture store. She restored the interior to how it was in 1890 as closely as she could. She said the original painted wood floor had been covered over for more than 80 years and was only revealed after she removed four layers of flooring. She also discovered a tin ceiling installed in the 1880s. After the closing of The House Downtown, Chesapeake Cycle & Sport opened in 2008 (by Edward and Stephanie Sheets) and remained for a couple of years, followed by the relocation here of the Island Jack store from across the street. The latter business closed in 2012.

As can be seen in photos, there is another very small store on the corner on the south side of the main store (which originally was a covered porch). Although considered a part of the real estate, different businesses operated in that area over time. Once a Western Union store, in 1942 it became “Jerry’s Barber Shop,” owned by Jerry Farro who moved his business here from Union Avenue and Franklin Street until he retired. Jerry and Rose Grossi Farro (parents of Helen, Connie, and Jerry, Jr.) had immigrated from Italy in 1912, and in 1931 when they moved to Havre de Grace Jerry opened a barber shop on North Union Avenue. In honor of his 100th birthday on January 17, 1993, Jerry Farro was named a Harford County Living Treasure by the Harford County Council. Rose Farro died in 1974 and Jerry died in 1994 at age 101. Around 2005, this small store became the White Rabbett Studio, a gallery of works by Tina F. Schueler-Parks and Thomas E. Parks.

From 2014 to 2016, this main store was the home of Glyph Art & Design Studio, which is now located further north on Washington Street. Chris Barber Shop moved into the main store in 2017 from Congress Avenue and is still located in the smaller corner store.

This historic Green’s Pharmacy space took on a new life on May 1, 2021, when two local military veterans, Kevin Wilson and Kyle Hurst, opened the Battery Island Brewing Company, a nano-brewery. They worked hard in restoring and renovating the space to provide great beer, good company, and good times. Their décor gives a nod to Fishing Battery Island, an artificial one-acre island created by Robert Gale and John Donahoo of Havre de Grace in the early 1800s as a base for the shad industry near the mouth of the Susquehanna River. John Donahoo constructed a (now abandoned) lighthouse there in 1851; since then it has become a wildlife refuge area with which many local boaters are familiar.

County Records
Built 1950. 4390 sq ft, 2 stories no basement, 1 bath, attached garage, 2100 sq ft lot.