The house is one of the few that escaped the burning of the town by the British in 1813 and is made almost entirely of wooden frame. The land on which this house was built was sold by Robert Young Stokes (1757-1784) in 1782 to John Sinclair. He sold it in 1794 to Nicholas Suder (sometimes spelled Sutor). Based on the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties referenced above, the house was built circa 1800. Therefore, it would have been built by Nicholas Sutor, the owner of the property at that time. In 1824, Nicholas sold the house to Gabriel Sutor. Ownership was challenged a few times after that and was resolved by the Circuit Court appointing Trustees each time to sell the property. In 1860 a Trustee sold it to William A. Bailey; in 1907 Trustees sold it to W. Coleman Bailey and others; and in 1921 Trustees sold it to Charles B. Burns.

It is unlikely that Charles Burns ever lived here because in 1921 he and his wife, Helen, sold the property to Robert H. Mitchell (1869-1942) and E. Lillie Mitchell, the parents of famed duck decoy carver and funeral director R. Madison Mitchell. Robert predeceased Lillie, who died in 1949 and left this property to her son, R. Madison Mitchell.

In 1953, Ellsworth Shank (1927-2015), a WWII veteran, had come to Havre de Grace and married Madelyn Mitchell (1928-2015), the daughter of R. Madison Mitchell and his wife, Helen. Madelyn Shank was a licensed mortician herself and worked with her father in the business. Both Ellsworth and Madelyn became officers of the Susquehanna Museum at the Lock House and Madelyn was a member of the Havre de Grace Presbyterian Church for more than 80 years.

In 1960, Madison and Helen Mitchell sold this home to Ellsworth and Madelyn Shank. In 1978, the Shanks opened this home to the 1978 Annual Candlelight Tour. An added bonus to visitors was visiting the decoy shop of R. Madison Mitchell next door and also seeing his “trophy room.” In the Shanks home, they admired Madelyn Shank’s collection of Wedgwood and a Christmas tree completely trimmed with sterling silver ornaments. Both of the Shanks lived long enough to be honored as Harford County Living Treasures.

Ownership of this house passed to the Mitchell Funeral Home and then to William and Julaine Smith, who had taken over the Funeral Home. In 2010, the widowed Julaine Smith sold this home to Brian O. and Lisa S. Bangs. There is now a two-story building directly behind this historical house, which appears to be a recent structure.

County Records
Built 1940. 3,445 sq ft, 2.5 stories with basement, 2.5 baths, detached garage, 5,800 sq ft lot.