This is one in a row of four adjoining formstone houses constructed in 1907 by the Burns Brothers, who had also created the Burns Brothers Carriage Factory at Adams and Green Streets. There were five industrious Burns brothers living in Havre de Grace who made a considerable impact on the city. The carriage factory, begun by Walter Elsworth Burns in 1896, is credited with building the first US mail wagon and the city fire company’s horse-drawn vehicles. The first car in Havre de Grace, the Burnsmobile, also was built in the factory. The factory suffered a major fire in 1902 and although they rebuilt it, by 1917 it went out of business.

The Burns brothers’ projects, often with turrets, are easily recognizable. One is the concrete duplex building at 618-620 Fountain Street, next to this home; another is the (now duplex) home at 516-518 Green Street built by Reese Norris Burns; others are the rows of similar houses in the 500 block of Congress Avenue and the 700 block of Green Street, all built within a few years of one another.

It is noteworthy that this home, built by the Burns Brothers in 1907, remained owned by Burns family members until 1979. It was Jonathan Isaac Burns who purchased the land for this row of four houses from Patrick Foley and oversaw the construction. Ownership then transferred to different Burns names until Hazel T. Burns sold them in 1979; however, it wasn’t until 1987 that the four homes were sold individually by Stephen and Carol Owen.

A new owner, Black Walnut Holdings LLC, in 2015 completely renovated this home with new walls, hardwood floors, roof, electric, water heater, and more. They created an open concept main floor, with three bedrooms and two new bathrooms upstairs and sold it to Samantha J. Moffett and Michael P. Goldsmith in 2017. They sold the home in January 2020 to Kaitlyn N. DiGiovanni who is one of the hero staff at Citizens Care & Rehabilitation Center within walking distance of her new home.

County Records
1456 sq ft, 2 baths, 2 stories, 3745 sq ft lot, unfinished basement.