Ownership of this parcel of land took a circuitous route in the early to mid-1800s. It was sold by William B. Stokes to Mark Pringle (1761-1819), after whose death his Administrator, Paca Smith (1779-1830), conveyed it to Sarah Peterman (daughter of Henry V. and Anna M. Peterman of Pennsylvania) in 1824. She, however, had married John Durell (1800-1880) and was then Sarah Peterman Durell (1805-1879), living in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. The Durells hired Joseph C. Carver of Havre de Grace (by “letter of attorney hire”) to sell the property to James Boyd of Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 1841. This was done and Boyd sold the land that same year to Thomas Earp (1785-1868) of Philadelphia.

Thomas Earp wrote his Last Will and Testament in 1864 in which he appointed trustees to sell the land but by the time Earp died in 1868 they also had died. Earp, a merchant and philanthropist, was a much admired President of the House of Refuge in Philadelphia; he devoted 40 years of his life to its welfare. [The Philadelphia Inquirer, 28 March 1868.] The Orphans Court of Philadelphia then appointed Philadelphia Trust Safe Deposit and Insurance Company to sell the land and in 1891 they sold this block of land “fronting 300 feet on South Washington Street and extending easterly 200 feet to a 20-foot-wide alley” to James T. “Jim” Holly (1849-1935).

Jim Holly was the youngest son of John W. "Daddy" Holly (1818-1892), who was one of Havre de Grace’s earliest duck decoy carvers. Jim had married Irene Cobourn Holly in 1879 and in 1905 they sold this Lot 455 on the southeast corner of Lafayette and South Washington Streets to Elizabeth O. Hamilton. It is thought that the Hollys sold the land unimproved and that Elizabeth Hamilton and her husband, Leonard, built this house in 1905 (the exact “built” date is not known). Three years later Elizabeth and her husband, Leonard Hamilton, sold it to William H. and Clara B. Burbank but they only held it for one year.

In 1909 the home was bought by William J. Arthur and his wife, Emma. William J. Arthur was the Grand Master for Maryland of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in 1913. William and Emma were the parents of Donald Rhodes Arthur who was living here when he enlisted in the National Guard April 7, 1917. He was promoted to Corporal August 13, 1917. He served in Company D 1st Maryland Infantry; Company H 1st Maryland Infantry September 26, 1917; Company G 112th Machine Gun Battalion and was hospitalized on October 13, 1918. He was honorably discharged on June 5, 1919. Corporal Arthur is listed on the Roll of Honor at Tydings Park. William and Emma Arthur had another son, Reginald Wright Arthur, who lived with them here in 1917.

By 1919, Emma Arthur was widowed and she sold this home to Emanuel and Agnes Nagle. They owned the property for about 10 years when they moved to Frederick, Maryland and sold it to Charles A. and Mary P. Keen. They had a daughter named Elizabeth Keen. In 1937 the Keens sold this to Harry J. Reasin (1891-1960) and Bessie B. Reasin (1907-1998). Harry was a WWI veteran and, although he died in 1960, Bessie continued to own this home for several more years. She sold it in 1989 to Peter A. and Susan E. Sheward who raised their daughter, Katheryn, in this home and are still enjoying it.

County Records
Built 1930. 2985 sq ft, 2 stories with basement, 1 bath, 12,000 sq ft lot.