George Taylor Lyon (1816-1891), operated a ship's chandlery in this block in the 1800s first as Lyon, Bayard & Company, and later as A. & G. T. Lyon & Company. His partners in the latter were Judge Andrew Lyon of Cecil County, and Col. J. Thompson Frieze. General provisions from his store were used to supply the large fishing floats that caught shad and herring in the Susquehanna River and Upper Chesapeake Bay. George Lyon and his wife, Maria, had four daughters and two sons, including Andrew Lincoln Lyon (1865-1942).

Established in 1894 by Andrew Lincoln Lyon, Lyon’s Pharmacy began in this triangular-shaped building and is one of Havre de Grace’s oldest businesses. In March 1899, robbers broke the glass in one of the front doors and ran off with 1,000 cigars—500 of them were found hidden under a house in the vicinity. The Era Druggists Directory, 1913 Edition, shows two other pharmacists had worked with Dr. Lyon: Thomas Sadler, Jr. (1834-1917) and Edward A. Zeitler (1858-1931).

Thomas Sadler became the pharmacist working at Green’s Pharmacy at 101 North Washington Street. Edward A. Zeitler was a pharmacist partner of Dr. Lyon at first but later opened his own “Zeitler Pharmacy” at 457 Franklin Street, which he advertised in 1916 as being at the “northwest corner of St. John and Franklin Streets, established in 1880.” Edward Zeitler is also known to have later owned the “City Pharmacy” at Union Avenue and Franklin Streets, with his wife, Susan Charshee Zeitler. And James Holly Drennan, a registered pharmacist, worked at Lyon’s Pharmacy until 1945, when he and his wife, Kathryn, opened their own pharmacy in Port Deposit that they named “Drennan’s Pharmacy.”

George Taylor Lyon, Sr. (1896-1983), a pharmacist and son of Andrew Lincoln Lyon, later joined the business with his brother, Andrew Tolson Lyon, and this building has housed the Lyon family business for four generations. Lyon’s Pharmacy moved next door to 328 St. John Street in 1963 but the Lyon family continued to own this building.

After the Pharmacy moved next door, James H. “Jim” Swann had Swann Realty here for many years, remembered by locals by the several white stained-glass swans he displayed in the windows. Jim sold real estate, did accounting and tax services until he retired, and sold his home at 131 South Washington Street.

Around 2008, Farmers Insurance took over the premises for a few years and in 2017 this became Wellness LLC. Don't miss the Coca Cola “ghost sign” that is fading rapidly on the back of this building that overlooks Lodge Lane.

County Records
Built 1900. 2032 sq ft retail store, 705 sq ft lot.