This pink Victorian frame home, a Gothic Revival cottage with a gambrel roof and Eastlake trim, was built for Abraham Prizer McCombs (1824-1916) and his wife, Mary C. Schott McCombs, in 1880. McCombs had bought the large lot, which extended westward along Bourbon Street in 1879. McCombs also owned the Havre de Grace Iron Company since 1866; was publisher and editor of the Havre Republican newspaper from 1868; and was president of the First National Bank of Havre de Grace in 1895. William Siward McCombs (1850-1928), his son, later changed the name of the newspaper to the Havre de Grace Republican, with Stanley Barrett as Editor, and in 1947 the name again was changed to the Havre de Grace Record.

Upon the death of Abraham P. McCombs in 1916, this home passed to his son, William S. McCombs and Mary Packard, his wife. In 1923, they sold the home to J. “Lawson” Gilbert (1892-1983) and Stella Mitchell Gilbert, who married in 1914 and owned this home for about the next 50 years. Stella was from a large and well-known Harford County family that owned the Mitchell Farm on Route 40. Her parents were George Lewis Mitchell (1851-1922) and Mary Emma Bowman Mitchell (1858-1940), whose other children were Pearl S. Mitchell (1882-1964), Lillian Mitchell Bonnett (1886-1926), and George “Corthell” Mitchell (1894-1984). Pearl Mitchell was best known for building and owning the former Colonial Hotel further south on Union Avenue at Revolution Street. The Mitchell Farm descended from Corthell Mitchell to Donald William Bonnett, who has sold that property.

The Gilberts divided this property in 1923 and sold a portion fronting on Bourbon Street to Lawson’s parents, A. Herbert “Herb” Gilbert (1869-1936) and Margaret W. “Maggie” Gilbert. The senior Gilberts built a Sears Model Home Kit house there that year. Lawson Gilbert was well known in town through various civic organizations and also for being the teller for many years in the First National Bank. He also ran the J. Lawson Gilbert Company, a meat and grocery business, in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1938, he opened a Gulf Oil distributorship on Water Street that he ran for 30 years. The Gilberts raised their three children, Arthur and Joseph and Rosalie, in this home and in 1971 sold it to Dr. Russell E. Morris, who had his medical office on the first floor.

In the early 1980’s the home was divided into apartments, perhaps by Jeanne Rutledge, the next owner. Neldon and Magdalena Jarvis, an artist, made it a single family home again in 1988 and in 1996 opened their home to the Annual Candlelight Tour. Behind the façade of this large Victorian house, painted pink with accents of gray and white, was a décor that reflected an eclectic European style. Several porches and decks off the first and second floors added grace to the dwelling. Magdalena Jarvis was a collector of varied items including a dozen vintage mannequins, head vases, decoys and angels. Of special note at that time was the beautiful Capodimonte chandelier in the front parlor. The third floor had living, kitchen, and sleeping areas with aboriginal objects. In 1999, Neldon Jarvis deeded the home to Magdalena in a marital settlement.

In 2007, this home, as Holistic Healing Light, was once more opened to the Annual Candlelight Tour by Magdalena Jarvis. This time every room was filled with modern as well as antique paintings that hung floor to ceiling, each above the other, and wall to wall, in addition to many Greek and Russian Orthodox icons.

Perry Stewart bought the house in 2009 and later opened it to the Annual Candlelight Tour. To those who had previously toured the home, the difference was remarkable. It was obvious that Perry had done a huge and labor-intensive renovation. In the front foyer was the original mahogany stairway railing. The “nectarine” paint complemented the numerous Asian pieces that her father had collected on trips. The porcelain chandelier in the formal parlor led to the choice of the room’s colors and material. A painting of the house was by a friend, Betsy Hermann, a Harford county native artist.

Perry Stewart’s favorite room was the dining room with its framed print above the mantle depicting the history of Maryland foxhunting. The mahogany banquet table was purchased so that the space could be used for intimate catered events, such as dinners and other life celebrations. A covered porch adjoined this room. The kitchen theme highlighted Perry’s collection of blue and white china and glass and the kitchen windows were converted into an open-on-both-sides china cabinet which held a collection of Japanese Sake sets. The den/study had the original hardwood floor, where pictures of Perry’s ancestors hung. The golden color chosen for the walls in the owner’s suite was pulled from the rust colored fabric and the antique chandelier above the bed. Remarkable in the first-floor master bedroom was a clawfoot bathtub in the corner; this room originally was the Gilbert family’s garage.

Many Havre de Grace citizens have enjoyed Perry’s hospitality in the warmth of the dining room and open porch since 2009 in this beautifully maintained Pink House. This property received an award from the Havre de Grace Historic Preservation Commission in 2021, not surprisingly, because Perry is constantly making improvements both inside and out toward preserving this very picturesque home.

County Records
Built 1900. 3513 sq ft, 2.5 stories with basement, 3 baths, with 13,939 sq ft lot.