The land on which this house was built was owned by Robert R. Vandiver (1805-1885) in 1857 and sold by his heirs in 1919 to John Welsh. John Welsh also owned land just north of this on South Union Avenue and built the home at 700 South Union Avenue for his family. John Welsh served as the City Bailiff from 1892 until 1907 and again from 1910 to 1911.

In 1932, John Welsh sold this property to Edward E. Hollahan (1890-1950) and his wife, Sue Hollahan (1897-1958), and it is assumed that they built this home in 1932. They were living here with their daughter, Rosalee, during the 1940 Census. After Sue was widowed, she deeded the home to Rosalee in 1952, reserving a life estate for herself. In the meantime, Rosalee married Lt. Col. Grayson C. Woodbury, a career Army officer and educator (and Havre de Grace High School graduate), and they owned this property until 1967.

Edna M. Poole (1903-1999) was the new owner for about the next 30 years. She was widowed in 1964, when her husband Howard Lee Poole died at the age of 61. Edna Poole was in her nineties when she sold the house to Hazel L. Williams in 1995. Hazel is the daughter of the late James H. and Laura J. Williams and is now married to Gordon Martin.

In a strange coincidence, research of a demolished historical property at 545 Lafayette Street showed some of these same owners on the same dates. Further investigation showed that the Lafayette Street property is located behind this house on Union Avenue. It appears that the land on which the Lafayette Street house sat was described in 712 South Union Avenue deeds as a “strip of land used for ingress and egress.” But on the latest deed for 712 South Union Avenue the description does not reference the strip of land; it merely shows the property as being a 12,750 square foot lot (a “normal” lot is usually 3,000 square feet). It is assumed that it has now just been folded into this square footage. One issue that needs more research is that for the Lafayette Street house, the Maryland Historical Trust listed Mrs. Harry Reasin as the owner of that in 1976, whereas she has never been an owner of this property. Further research is needed on this property.

County Records
Built 1930. 1928 sq ft, 1.5 stories with basement, 3.5 baths, detached garage, 12,750 sq ft lot.