There used to be a two-story building here between the Rodgers Tavern and Goll’s Bakery. It was bought in 1881 from Trustees John Rodgers and Montgomery C. Meigs by Jesse Hiles (1828-1914) and his wife, Mary Hilles. They sold it that same year to Captain Thomas Carroll (1834-1910) and his wife, Mary K. Carroll. Captain Thomas had been in command of the tug, Arctic, prior to the building of the 1865 PB&W Railroad bridge and had just retired. The Captain and his wife ran Carroll’s Bakery on the first floor here until the Captain’s death. The Captain’s Will provided that if his son, Harry Allen Carroll (d. 1947), paid all of the Captain’s debts, Harry would have the right to this building (Mary had predeceased the Captain in 1900). The Captain’s heirs (including three daughters) sold the building to their brother, Harry A. Carroll, in 1912. He served as the Havre de Grace Postmaster from 1906 to 1914 and again from 1924 to 1932. In addition, Harry was the editor of the Havre Republican established in 1868 and published by A.P. McCombs & Co. The Carrolls’ other son, Thomas M. Carroll was a member of the City Council.

In the 1930s, Harry Allen Carroll had the two-story building torn down so he could build a one-level “National 5 and 10¢ Store.” (The imprint of the old building can still be seen on the brick on the north side of the adjacent Rodgers Tavern.) Harry Carroll owned the new building for several years but in 1942 sold the building to Louis and Mollie Handloff of Delaware. Ownership remained in the Handloff family until the year 2000.

Some people remember the National 5 and 10¢ as being run by the Millers, but others remember Wilson Elliott the best. However, everybody knew the late Evelyn “Snookie” Kleinsorgen, who began working at this 5 and 10¢ store when she was 13; she worked her way up to being the store manager and retired after 54 years when the store closed in 2000. The National 5 and 10¢ was an old-time variety store, popular for buying school supplies, souvenirs, Halloween costumes, and patterns and material for sewing.

John Lidtke remembers that his grandfather used to take him to the National 5 and 10¢ to ride the brown horse in the back for a quarter; however Larry Sampson liked the rocketship better because it had three handles you could pull to make buzzing sounds. But Millie McCauley Campbell remembers the National 5 and 10¢ as being the place where her mother, who worked there, met her father. The National 5 and 10¢ store closed in 2000 when the building was bought by the Havre de Grace Antiques Center LLC.

The Antiques Center was open for two years when it sold the property to Bull & Weese LLC and underwent another name change to Bayside Antiques. There were many different vendors inside each with their own spaces. A few years ago, Mary L. Martin Ltd. took over a large section in the rear of the store with her antique postcard business that she had previously operated for many years in Perryville. Bayside Antiques, however, continues to have a lot of other vendors.

The interior of this large store was divided in 2021 to create a separate store at 230 North Washington Street. In June 2021, “Live Rite” opened a store here selling health and beauty products.

County Records
Built 1937. 7360 sq ft, 8200 sq ft lot, commercial retail store.