One of the early owners of the land upon which this and nearby houses were built was Stephen J. Seneca and his wife. They built the Seneca Mansion at 200 North Union Avenue and owned considerable property in Havre de Grace, including the land on the north side of Warren Street from Juniata to Adams Streets. He is better remembered for owning and operating the Seneca Canning Company, until his death in 1918.

Seneca sold this property in 1905 to Manor Real Estate Trust Company of Pennsylvania and records indicate that Manor Real Estate sold the property from Juniata to North Adams Streets in 1924 to Joseph Henry Wileman (1864-1949) and his wife, Lillie Kate. Joseph Wileman worked for the Standard Lime and Stone Company and he and Lillie also ran “Uncle Joe’s” corner grocery store in the early 1900s at the nearby 800 North Juniata Street. He also served as Bailiff of the City from 1914-1916.

In 1927 Joseph and Lillie Wileman sold this lot to William Grant Mitchell (born in 1870) and Anna Mary Mitchell (born 1877), his wife. An old photo of the couple shows them standing on the porch of a boots and shoes store owned by their friend, Michael Harman, of St. John Street some years beforehand. The photo and an accompanying story was reported in The Record and in The Bradford Evening Star on July 29, 1933:

“The above picture was . . . brought to The Record office by Mr. Gordon Mitchell. It shows his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. William Mitchell, late of 727 Warren Street, standing on the porch of the house and store formerly occupied by Mr. Michael Harman on St. John Street. Mr. Harman was at that location from about 1870 to 1880. Mr. Mitchell relates that his grandfather, on one occasion, rescued Mr. Harman from drowning and that he later received a sizeable inheritance from Mr. Harman’s estate. Many readers will recall the building next door, which was the fish market, owned by the late A. H. Gilbert, father of Mr. J. Lawson Gilbert and Mrs. David Jones of this city.”

The rescue had apparently happened 30 years before Michael Harman’s death and when William Mitchell received the letter and inheritance check of $5,000, William, who worked in a canning factory said that he had almost forgotten the incident.

Census information shows that in 1940, William and Anna Mitchell were living here with three sons. In 1944, however, the widowed Anna M. Mitchell bequeathed this property to Anna O. Palmer (presumed to be Anna Mitchell’s daughter) in 1944 and she and her husband, George R. Palmer, lived here until 1964. For the next 12 years, the home was owned by William P. Mitchell (born in 1915), one of the sons of William G. and Anna Mitchell.

The longest resident of this home appears to be Gordon Boyd Mitchell (1920-2016) who lived here for about 40 years beginning in 1976. He was the grandson of William G. and Anna Mitchell. Gordon served in the National Guard and the Navy for several years, became a Deputy U.S. Marshall, and co-owner and operator of Battaglia Security & Investigative Services. Gordon Mitchell’s estate sold this home in 2017 to Joshua and Jennifer Morris, ending a period of about 90 years of being owned by the same family.

This home faces the south bound train tracks and what remains of the former Havre de Grace Pennsylvania Railroad train station foundation, which has been beautifully painted with a mural by local artist, Shawn Forton. This house has a 1 bedroom apt that is entered from the rear and is the first floor.

County Records
1,482 sq ft, with 500 sq ft basement, 1.5 stories, 1.5 baths, large 9,380 sq ft lot, covered porch, detached garage on rear alley.