This was the location of one of five nearly identical red-brick double houses on the south side of Fountain Street built around 1890 in a vernacular Italianate style. Known as “Brick Row,” they were originally intended to provide housing for workers in the factories and mills operating at 701 Fountain Street. The houses first appeared on the 1894 Sanborn Insurance Map. The duplex closest to Juniata Street was demolished several years ago for a parking lot and this easternmost duplex at the corner of Adams Street was demolished in 1997. The remaining three duplexes are 706-708, 716-718, and 726-728 Fountain Street.

The five duplexes were sold in 1904 by the The Havre de Grace Improvement Company to Robert G. Gambrill, President of Gambrill & Melville Mills, of 701 Fountain Street. Robert Gambrill later sold each one of the houses separately.

The original duplex located here at the corner of Fountain and South Adams Street was conveyed by The Columbian Building Association to widower Clifford Santmyer (1889-1967) in 1939. His wife, Molly, had died young in 1926 after having three children. Clifford served as the night watchman at the High School for about 35 years, a position that was cut by Police Chief J. Earl Walker in 1961 (along with that of a school crossing guard) to allow the chief to hire another full-time officer. Clifford’s Will left the home to his daughter, Jean S. McMullen, in 1967.

Jean McMullen lived here for about 20 years and bequeathed the property to her son, Harry W. McMullen, Sr. (1937-2008) of Elkton, MD, in 1990. Seven years later, Harry McMullen sold this to Henry E. Gebhardt, who demolished the red-brick duplex and built a new single family home in its place in 1998. The new home was bought by Charles R. “Buck” Stansbury, Jr. (1948-2011) and Debra E. Lester (1954-2013) that year. Buck was the son of Ruth and Charles R. Stansbury, Sr. of Havre de Grace. The GMM Investment Trust sold this home to Karen L. Kneib in 2017. Karen has completed some renovations to the home, including new siding and paint.

County Record Built 1998. 1494 sq ft, 2 stories, 3 beds, no basement, 2 baths. 2750 sq ft lot.