The former mansion here was built as a home for James Hopper (1832-1902) and his wife, Sarah Barnes Hopper (1842-1897), in 1864 near the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal and Lockhouse. This building should not be confused with Hopper’s Hotel at 804 Conesteo Street, built by John A. Hopper (James Hopper’s uncle) in 1856. This land at the northwest corner of North Stokes and Ontario Streets had been awarded to Hopper by a Circuit Court Trustee. Although the mansion is now gone, the home at 623 Ontario Street now exists on a portion of the same parcel of land.

Hopper had come to Havre de Grace in 1843 to live with his uncle (John A. Hopper), met his wife, and became a successful coal, wood, and hardware merchant as James Hopper & Company. He later became president of the Columbian Building Association. They raised their children, including Mabel Hopper Morgan (1883-1959) and Henry Barnes Hopper (1866-1949), in this mansion and lived here until their deaths. In 1906, Mabel and Henry, as heirs, sold the home to Henry Hopper and his wife, Katherine; eight years later they sold the property to Frederick C. Lawder who invested in several properties in the city. This was a time when use of the canal had ceased due to its inability to meet railroad competition and even the Lockhouse itself had become a rental property.

In 1922 this property was bought by brothers William F. Abbott (1886-1924) and Martin L. Abbott (1891-1928) who owned and ran Abbott’s Ice House on the river at Water and Erie Streets. They had begun their Ice House business around 1917 by selling blocks of ice cut from the Susquehanna River. The ice was stacked up between layers of straw and boards and stored in the Ice House. Both of these young men died at a relatively young age—William at age 38 and Martin at age 37.

By 1930, with both of the brothers having passed away, Mary A. Abbott (1988-1985 and widow of William) sold this house to Catherine C. Abbott (1867-1933), the mother of the brothers. Catherine’s executors passed this on to her daughter, Gladys E. Abbott (1904-1972) in 1934 and Gladys sold the home in 1948 to Frank and Elsie Maslin, a well-known local family. Frank Maslin began his career working for the Stockham Cannery and later became the Executive Vice President of the former First National Bank & Trust Company; he also invested in real estate.

The Maslins held the house for only four years and then sold it to Lucille P. Hite (1915-1997) in 1952 after which it was owned by Dale T. and Lois Knight. At some point in the 1960s the mansion was converted into rental apartments and, because Dale Knight owned a construction company (operated out of 623 Ontario Street), it seems logical that this conversion could have been done by him. The widowed Lois Knight sold the property in 1972. Brenda Brennan-Baker, who lived across the street from this house, says this was a very beautiful home at one time. Kathy Dominick says she and her husband, Danny, lived there from 1978-1980.

David L. Malin and his then wife, Cynthia, bought the entire property in 1976. They lived in #623 while continuing to run the rental apartments in the mansion. The Sheriff of Harford County, however, sold the property at public sale in 1987 to Eugene Harry Muir, who three months later sold it back to David Malin. The former mansion at #605 had been empty for some time when in 1989 an arsonist set it on fire (who was never arrested); the building was completely destroyed. It was owned by David Malin when it burned; he still owns the open land and continues to live in the adjoining property at 623 Ontario Street.

County Records
Land records for this lot are included in those of the adjoining property at 623 Ontario Street.