Cynthia C. Morrison owned this home on the southwest corner of Congress Avenue and Freedom Alley (now Lane) in 1868 and sold it to Thomas M. Bacon (1804-1874). The deed was unusual in that she stipulated that Thomas Bacon would also have: “All the household goods, store goods, and debts in my possession and hereby authorize Thomas M. Bacon to take charge of said furniture and debts due to me and collect same for his own use.” It sounded like she could have been operating a store from the home, which certainly would not have been unusual in 1868. Having only owned the home for one year, Thomas Bacon sold it to Henry Carver (1819-1889) and Mary, his wife. Carver was from a family of blacksmiths and had his blacksmith shop on Union Avenue.

In 1873, the Carvers sold the home to Mary Ann Wilson and then it went to a couple of other people until it was devised by Rebecca Worthington (wife of James Worthington) to their daughter, Mary S. Worthington in 1905. Mary, however, sold it to Michael H. Fahey (1865-1940) the same year. He was an attorney who was well-known in the city and served in several important roles including City Treasurer in 1906 and City Solicitor beginning in 1929. There is little doubt that this was an investment property for him because he owned other properties. Michael Fahey held this until 1939 when he sold it to Michael H. Quirk and his daughter, Elizabeth Quirk.

After the death of her father, Elizabeth Quirk sold this home in 1981 to Rene and Mary Clark Lambert. Since the MIHP Inventory had described this in 1977 as in “very dilapidated condition,” and the Lamberts both enjoyed restoring old homes, they set about that task. Rene worked at the Aberdeen Proving Ground for more than 32 years and they both volunteered with numerous local organizations (including the Lock House Museum) for which Rene was awarded a Key to the City in 2009.

About five years later (1982) the Lamberts purchased the Carver House on South Union Avenue and made that their home, while continuing to own this home. In 2009 they sold this home to Kevin and Kimberly Simons, who are related to the Lamberts’ daughter, Karen Gorsuch. Three years later, the Simons sold the home to Louis and Maritta Kissel.

In 2015, the appearance of this historic treasure was greatly improved by the complete replacement of all the exterior dark brown wood shingles with new wood shingles, of a lighter shade of brown, and the repair of the front porch. Note that they have placed the original sign for “S. Freedom A” on the side of the porch. This property continues to be owned by the Kissels, who own the business, “Baumhaus Fibers and Wood,” which was represented at the 56th Annual Havre de Grace Art Show.

County Records
Built 1840. 1216 sq ft, 2 stories, wood shingle, no basement, 1 bath, 5600 sq ft lot.