This piece of land was leased in 1804 by William B. Stokes (son of Robert Young Stokes who laid out the town in 1782) to Christian Hoopman (born 1753). In 1842, John Donahoo, who built the Havre de Grace Lightstation in 1827, deeded this Lot 198, “the same ground on which Henry Moore has erected a dwelling which he now occupies,” to Henry Moore who presumably lived here for some years. The Administrator of Henry Moore’s estate in 1885 sold this property to Captain John Burroughs (1816-1897), previously of Cecil County. The Captain was involved in local fisheries for many years. He also took over City Hotel on North Washington Street as proprietor the year before he acquired this property. In early 1888, Captain Burroughs’s wife, Jane, died and by the end of that year, someone else had taken over the hotel.

In 1896, just before he died, Captain Burroughs conveyed this property to his son, Henry R. Burroughs and his wife, Almeda, of Somerset County, MD. They owned this property until 1935 when they sold it to Dr. Frederick W. Steiner (1878-1943) and his wife, Grace. Dr. Steiner was Dean of Staff at the Harford Memorial Hospital for several years and this most likely was an investment property for them.

Later owners of this two-story stone frame house and land that extended to the river were Evaristo Bucchi (1889-1956) and Elisa Bucchi, who ran a shoe shop at 112 North Washington Street for many years. After the death of Evaristo, Elisa deeded the home to their daughter, Mary Armstrong, reserving a life estate for herself. After the 1981 death of Elisa, Mary Armstrong sold this property to Fritz Sterbak in 1982. At some point after that, the building that had been on this lot was demolished.

In 2000, Fritz Sterbak sold this property to Allen J. Fair, who is well known in the local real estate business.. Allen had moved to Havre de Grace with his parents and brother in 1946 after which his first job was to walk horses at “The Graw” thoroughbred racetrack nearby. After the track was closed down in 1950 Allen got involved in rehabbing buildings and investing in real estate. He was one of the founders of the Havre de Grace Decoy Museum in the former Bayou Hotel boiler plant that they rehabbed. A few years after acquiring this, Allen generously allowed local residents to use the land as community gardens where they grow vegetables and flowers. Another lot owned by Allen across the street is used in the same way. Allen Fair also owns the adjacent building at 200 Congress Avenue, which is now a gym. To the delight of many, and through a collaboration with local muralist and artist Ezra Berger, Ezra’s two sons and other volunteers, Allen and Ezra have created a massive outdoor gallery of murals along the walls overlooking this open property.

The murals depict various aspects of the city’s history, including the nearby horse racing track known as “The Graw” where races were held from 1912 until 1950. They were years when the city was considered a sporting and gambling center for the mid-Atlantic region, and just about every great horse of those years including “Man 'O War,” “Citation,” “Seabiscuit,” and “War Admiral” raced there. And locals prospered during those festive two weeks each spring and fall when 5,000-6,000 racing enthusiasts, horse trainers, grooms, and jockeys needed lodging, food, various kinds of entertainment and gambling. Allen and Ezra have created “Graw Alley” where anyone can wander and reminisce about the good old days.