This is Taylor’s Barber Shop where Nick the Barber has been cutting hair for many years. This piece of land formerly belonged to Joshua Green (1781-1840) who owned the property with a duplex house south of the barber shop, beside the Old Ordinary. In 1805 Joshua Green married Elizabeth Kendle Myer Green (1785-1861). Joshua Green was a War of 1812 veteran and was elected a Commissioner in 1812-1813 and City Treasurer in 1813.

Joshua and Elizabeth Green had three children: George B. Green was born in 1813; Littleton Green 1817-1897; and Elizabeth “Lizzie” Green 1828-1894. Elizabeth Green married Col. J. Thompson Frieze (1826-1898) in 1858, who later became Mayor three times. Elizabeth and J. Thompson Frieze had one child, Willie S. Frieze who married Virginia L. Frieze.

Although Joshua died in 1840, his wife, Elizabeth, lived until 1861 and owned any property that he had owned. They both died intestate but nobody was able to locate their eldest son, George Green, until 1874, when their property was distributed. He had shipwrecked while in the service and had settled in Texas when they located him. This property, including the duplex, then went to Willie S. Frieze who sold it in 1903 to Sylvester Penning. The Pennings sold it in 1918 to Joseph H. and Olivia Durbin who owned it for more than 40 years.

In 1961 the property was bought by Cornelius and Helen Smith (along with 106-108 St. John Street), who were in the real estate business. The Smiths sold this 500 square-foot piece of their land in August 1966 to Rufus Louis Taylor and Rutha Mae Taylor, who may have built this red brick barber shop then. In the alternative, the Smiths may have built the shop in 1964 but it is known that it was 1966 when the Smiths sold it to the Taylors. (The Smiths continued to own the duplex next door until 1980.) Darryl Malloy remembers that when his Uncle, Rufus Taylor, gave him his first haircut there 57 years ago, Nick the Barber was there at that time also.

After the death of Rufus in 2003 at the age of 79, Rutha Mae Taylor deeded this property to Zeford Gaddy (her brother) and his wife, Monalyn Gaddy, reserving a life estate for herself. Rutha is the daughter of the late James E. and Winnie J. Gaddy of North Carolina. Nick the Barber says this is the longest-running barber shop in Havre de Grace.

County Records
Built 1964. 504 sq ft., beauty/barber shop, 610 sq ft lot.