The 1830s in Havre de Grace was a time of great growth. Construction of the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal was begun in 1836 and completed in 1840 allowing shipment of goods more easily between central Pennsylvania and Baltimore. And in 1836, the first railroad tracks were laid from west of the city along the former St. Clair Street (now Pennington Avenue) to the wharf, where in 1839 the 453-ton steamer, “Susquehanna,” began hauling trains across the river. The tracks ran right past this southwestern corner of Pennington Avenue and North Washington Streets. In addition, at the northeastern corner of this same intersection, it is said that the building later called the “White Chapel Pool Hall” (since demolished) was the city’s first passenger and freight station.

In 1835 the parcel of land on which this Sawyer Building was later constructed was sold by the estate of Mary B. Brown of Harford County. She was the widow of A. Freeborn Brown (born in 1755), who had served in Captain Josiah Carvil Hall’s Company #1 during the American Revolution, and they were wealthy landowners of a farm called “Jericho” at Deer Creek. The new owner of this lot was Washington P. Chew (1798-1850), who also had a farm on the “Rupalta” property north of town. Three years later, Washington Chew and Julianna Hall (1817-1872) sold this lot to Colonel William Slater of Frederick County; he was a wealthy merchant from Philadelphia and Baltimore. Julianna was the daughter of George W. and Sophia Hall who built the Hall House at 227 South Union Avenue in 1835. Colonel Slater and his wife, Margaret, sold this lot in 1841 to John Ahern of Baltimore.

While these events were transpiring there was a railroad construction pioneer in Philadelphia who was devoting the 1830s to raising money for and then building a rail line from Philadelphia south to Wilmington and Baltimore. He was Matthew Newkirk (1794-1868) who invested in all four of the state-chartered railroads, installed himself on their boards, and assumed the presidency of two of them. Then, in 1838 he merged the railroads into one, the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B), made himself President, and began direct rail service between the cities, broken only by a ferry trip across the Susquehanna River. The new service was a landmark feat that also helped link Boston and New York to the nation’s capital. Today in Philadelphia there is still standing a Newkirk Viaduct Monument (albeit graffiti-covered) bearing Newkirk’s name as a “dry-goods merchant whose subsequent success in banking, real estate, mining, smelting, and railroads made him one of the wealthiest men of his day.” His real estate investments spanned eleven states and a lot of Philadelphia.

Perhaps it is not surprising that the next purchaser of this corner parcel of land (along with others near the railroad tracks) in Havre de Grace in 1842 was Matthew Newkirk! He bought it from John Ahern of Baltimore who, as noted above, had bought it one year earlier from Colonel William Slater of Frederick County. The three were well known to one another—Ahern and Slater were the “railroad contractors” during 1835-1838 when Newkirk was building the new PW&B rail line that took the trains to the ferry dock at the foot of Pennington Avenue.

It is most likely that this large building was constructed in 1842 by Newkirk as a hotel for the convenience of railroad passengers. It is not known who operated the hotel for Newkirk over the next twenty years. What is known is that he was a religious man of great integrity and was loyal to his investors. Whenever he had financial uncertainty he regularly assigned properties to his investors through William M. Smith of Philadelphia. In July 1862, the year after the outbreak of the Civil War, Newkirk (and his wife, Hetty Maskell Newkirk) assigned this property to Sarah S. Neill, widow of Newkirk’s good friend, Rev. William Neill, D.D. (1778-1860), Pastor of the Sixth Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia.

Within six months, Sarah Neill sold this property in 1862 to Priscilla Worthington Hopkins (1810-1871) of Havre de Grace. Priscilla was the wife of Thomas Chew Hopkins (1808-1876) since 1835; he was a local physician, and served as Town Commissioner and Member of the House of Delegates. They lived in the handsome Thomas Hopkins House at 229 North Union Avenue. Ownership of this Sawyer Building remained in Priscilla’s name from 1862 until 1920.

While no battles of the Civil War erupted in Havre de Grace, a great many local citizens went to fight for the Union; a smaller number for the Confederacy. A whole regiment was assigned to protect the Susquehanna crossing and the steamer, “Maryland” was used to transport troops back and forth. It is also known that Priscilla Hopkins’s building became a hotel, complete with stables, operated by James “Jim” Nixon (1832-1895) and known as “Nixon’s Hotel.” Located on the rail line and just a block from the ferry it was convenient for anyone coming by train or ferry.

It would not be surprising that a hotel located here would also be ideal for housing and treating patients who had been wounded during the Civil War, especially since the husband of the owner was a prominent physician in the city. This may explain why some people believe that this building served as a hospital during the Civil War.

After the War’s end, Nixon was still operating this hotel. To entice people to his hotel, Nixon advertised in the 1877 Sportsman’s Gazetteer and General Guide that “duckers, boats, decoys, etc. could be obtained.” Nixon himself was a crack shot at pigeon shooting and placed first at a match on New Year’s Day, 1873. In 1878 Nixon turned the hotel over to John P. Adams and moved to his farm with his wife, Margaret. Adams renamed the rooming establishment as the “Adams House” and rented out the ground floor.

In 1891, Jacob Davis (1866-1936), Watch Maker and Jeweler, had opened a small store in Havre de Grace but in 1900 he moved the business to this ground floor and began selling the Edison phonograph as well as doing watch and clock repairs. Carrie Lawrence (1907-2010) relates in a Harford County Living Treasure interview that her father worked for Jacob Davis selling pianolas and organs—“He would hook up our horse (Old Rose) and buggy and go out into the country to deliver them.” And in 1925, J. Davis was an “Exclusive Victor Dealer, selling Orthophonic Victrolas and Victors for $10 to $400.”

Jacob and Katherine J. Davis were the parents of Joseph Leon Davis, who was born on May 22, 1896. Joseph Davis enlisted in the National Guard in 1917. He was promoted to Private First Class in January 1918 and to Corporal in March 1918. He served in Company D 1st Maryland Infantry, then Company D of the 115th Infantry. Corporal Davis served overseas from June 15, 1918, until his death from a grenade explosion on August 31, 1918. Corporal Davis holds a special place in the history of Havre de Grace as the first person in military or naval service from Harford County to pay the supreme price in WWI. He was the brother of Abraham “Abe” Davis, Lillian E. Dorn, and Minnie Davis. The Havre de Grace American Legion Post #47 on St. John Street is named in honor of Corporal Joseph L. Davis.

In 1920, an ongoing family dispute between surviving Hopkins family members about ownership of this property reached the Circuit Court, which they resolved by ordering the public sale of this building. A Court Trustee accomplished this by selling it to Jacob Davis.

Jacob Davis died in 1936 but the business was continued by his wife, Katherine Davis, until her death in 1948. Their son, Abe Davis (1893-1966) (at one point a City Councilman and Chairman of the Harford County Board of Commissioners), with his wife Edith, took over the store and continued selling jewelry, Gorham sterling silver, records, watches and more into 1964. Kathleen Walter shared that for her parents’ 25th wedding anniversary in 1962, she and her sisters used their pocket and lunch money every week to make payments on a gift for them—when Abe and Edith learned this, they gave the sisters a discount, which she appreciated. Abe and Edith held a closing sale in February 1964 to sell off their merchandise after 74 years in business

Abe and Edith Davis had two daughters, one of whom was Hilda Davis who married Frank J. Hutchins (1917-1987). They were the parents of Cathy Hutchins Vincenti who has fond memories of playing out back of the store and using the rear stairway to visit her grandparents in their apartment above the store. Cathy now serves the city as the Executive Director of the Havre de Grace Chamber of Commerce. The second daughter of Abe and Edith Davis was Audrey Davis Wachsman (1921-2007) who married Dr. Irvin Wachsman, who had a medical practice on South Union Avenue.

The Davis family, having owned this building for 45 years, sold it to Robert L. Murphy and his wife, Arline Murphy (“Fly and Flip”) in 1965. The Murphys re-opened The Maryland Restaurant here, having relocated from across Pennington Avenue at 200 North Washington Street. Fly and Flip lived in one of the upstairs apartments, as did Flip’s sister Rebecca, whom they nicknamed “Flop.” Many of Flip’s clientele followed them here with the business. Ed Strong’s mother worked for them as a cook and Ed can remember meeting Cal Ripken, Sr. here one day. William R. Pyle ate many meals here between 1956 and 1970; he enjoyed 5-cent coffee, 20-cent soup, and his favorite hot dog and baked-bean casserole. And Jay McSpadden, who loved their hamburgers, says Fly and Flip were “awesome people.” John P. Correri remembers Fly and Flip as “good customers of Correri’s Fruit Market” next door. Cindy Lee remembers Rebecca’s doll collection that she allowed her to play with sometimes.

Elizabeth “Soonie” Joyner was born to Maybelle Jenkins and Frank Joyner in 1922. Elizabeth attended the Havre de Grace Colored School, graduating in June 1940. In 1963, she married Chief Warrant Officer Thomas Willie Sawyer. By 1971, she achieved a life-long dream of owning a restaurant when she and her husband bought this building and established the “Chat N Chew” restaurant and bar. It was the only African-American owned business on the main street of Havre de Grace. She even opened the Chat N Chew on many Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays to serve those without homes and veterans in the community. Laura Skinner recalls that on Wednesdays, after her Pop got peanuts for her in McLhinney’s, he would stop into the Chat N Chew bar while she waited for him outside Correri’s door. Thomas Sawyer died in 2007 after 43 years of marriage; Soonie Sawyer died in 2013, having run the business successfully for more than 30 years.

Soonie Sawyer’s daughter, Carol P. Bruce, is a 1959 graduate of the Havre de Grace Consolidated School and a 1964 graduate of Morgan State College. Carol is now the Vice President of the Havre de Grace Colored School Foundation, a nonprofit organization run by a dedicated group of volunteers committed to preserving the rich history of the Havre de Grace Colored School.

The former Chat N Chew building now houses The Vineyard Wine Bar on the first floor, operated by Joe Lertch and Jarrod Cronin. It opened in 2008 as a restaurant with wine tastings, wine education, a lounge, and an outdoor patio. Spacious apartments are rented on the second and third floors by the building owners, 142 North Washington Street, LLC.

County Records
Built 1838. 5970 sq ft, restaurant, 4,000 sq ft lot.