This house was built by Charles and Dorothy Parker in 1926, just after they bought the lot from Harry A. Carroll, who was Postmaster of Havre de Grace from 1926-1932. The Parkers were able to retrieve some pavers from the front yard of the old Baker House at 501 South Union Avenue and place them in the back yard here as the Baker House transitioned to becoming the Harford Memorial Hospital. Dorothy K. Parker (1901-1976) served as the Havre de Grace Librarian beginning in 1922, with 1,000 books on the shelves in the old City Hall, and Charles H. Parker was elected Secretary/Treasurer of the Havre de Grace Hospital Board in 1927.

The widowed Dorothy Parker sold the home in 1941 to Walter E. Jackson (1911-1983) and Virginia Ebert Jackson (1913-1999), who were married in 1938. Walter worked for many years at the Baltimore Gas & Electric Company; they belonged to the Havre de Grace Presbyterian Church and Virginia was a Girl Scout troop leader. Walter and Virginia’s daughter, Jeanne Jackson Dell’Acqua, was a newborn when they moved to the home; they had two more daughters, including Carolyn Jackson who married John Narvell.

John Narvell served as President of the Havre de Grace Parks and Recreation Committee since 1982 and it was his volunteerism and that of Carolyn Narvell that led to John being recognized in 2011 by “Patch” as one of the “People of the Year.” John and Carolyn were best known in Havre de Grace for the major role they played on the Independence Day Celebration Committee and for tirelessly organizing the 4th of July Festival for about 30 years. Carolyn also was a popular teacher in the Havre de Grace Elementary School.

In 1995, this home was bought by Carolyn and John Narvell’s son (and the Jacksons’ grandson), John L. “Jay” Narvell IV and his wife, Kari. Jay has said that one of the main reasons he bought his grandparents’ home was the 40’ x 10’ front porch from which he has watched the Havre de Grace 4th of July Parade “for all but one of the past 50 years.” Following the cancellation of the 2020 July 4th Parade due to the Covid-19 virus, it will now be two that he has missed. However, their porch is indeed a perfect location for viewing any parade over their prolific and beautiful boxwoods.

County Records
Built 1935. 1332 sq ft, 1.5 stories with basement, 1 bathroom, 12,000 sq ft lot.