This single family home may have been built by Robert and Laura Vanneman, after which they sold it in 1905 to Augustus Freeborn Brown, Jr. (1873-1945) and his first wife, Bessie B.K. Brown. Bessie Brown died of pneumonia just two years later. Brown Jr. married Mary Josephine Brown in 1914 and they had four children (including A. Freeborn Brown III), who were raised in this home. Brown Jr. was an attorney who in 1901 founded his own law firm and in 1929 moved the firm from Havre de Grace to Bel Air (now the well-known and historic firm of Brown, Brown & Brown P.A.). Augustus Brown Jr. continued to practice law until his death in 1945.

In 1948, Mary Brown, his widow, sold this house to Dr. Richard B. Norment and his wife, Marjorie. (Later, their daughter Penelope Norment, married Augustus Freeborn Brown IV.) Dr. Norment and Dr. Frederick J. Hatem were partners in a busy medical practice. The Norments owned this home for about five years, after which they sold it in 1953 to Dr. Irvin Wachsman and his wife, Audrey. Dr. Wachsman had begun his medical practice in 1950 in a basement office on Franklin Street.

It is thought that it was Dr. Wachsman who created the two entrances to the house in order to have his medical practice on the right-hand side, while reserving the private left side for the family. Audrey Davis Wachsman was his wife; she also was one of the daughters of Abe Davis whose father, Jacob Davis, began Davis Jewelry at 142 North Washington Street many years earlier.

Larry Sampson, a patient of Dr. Wachsman, has given us a glimpse into his office by writing, “That old office of his was never changed or modernized. His desk chair with three wheels instead of four was never fixed. Those two thermometers he always kept in alcohol in that old tube on the counter. He was my doctor and took care of me from six weeks until his retirement. With that constant cigar, he was a true town character and someone I am grateful for all of these years.” And Tom Boyle says, “I just loved the look and smell of the 25-year-old shag carpet in his office.” Dr. Wachsman also kept a display case in his office with antique medical tools and saws and an old doctor’s bag in it, all of which were said to have scared children. But many locals still remember with great gratitude that he made house calls. Joe Pollace shared the funny story of the first baby Dr. Wachsman delivered. He came to their house and delivered Joe and started to leave when Joe’s mother called out and said, “You forgot something.” That’s when Joe’s twin sister started to come out!

Audrey Wachsman died in 1997, followed by the doctor in 1999. The house is now owned by the two Wachsman sons, Mark and Matthew Wachsman.

County Records
Built 1903. 2720 sq ft, 2 stories with basement, 1.5 baths, 12,000 sq ft lot.