This property was part of the several lots deeded “with natural love and affection” and Two Thousand Dollars in 1879 by William R. Young (1826-1909) of Harford County “but sojourning for a while at Knoxville, Tennessee,” to Esther Young, his wife. William was well known in the city, having served as Bailiff from 1866 to 1872. Also included in the 1879 deed were William Young’s rights to the fish packing house and ice house on the town wharf near the old railroad depot and landing, “with all fixtures and appurtenances belonging thereto.” This home appears on the Sanborn Insurance Map of June 1885 (the first published) and most likely was built by William and Esther Young before he began his 1879 “sojourn.”

After Esther’s death in 1906, an ownership dispute arose (between Robert W. Young and Eva Mae Virtue) that was resolved by court trustees selling this Lot 334 in Square 233 to John A. Russell in 1909. The latter immediately sold the property to Robert G. Gambrill (1858-1941) who with his brother had opened Gambrill & Melville Mills, manufacturer of cotton damask and other textiles at Fountain and Juniata Streets. There was a shortage of housing in the city at that time and Gambrill may have purchased the home for some of his workers (as he did with other properties).

In 1912, Robert Gambrill and his wife, Mary, sold this property to Reese “Norris” Burns (1870-1946), one of the well-known Burns brothers who had been operating the Burns Carriage Factory at 666 Green Street and had built several houses during the previous decade. Norris Burns and his wife, Edith, three years earlier had built a large textured concrete block exterior mansion adjacent to this house on the southeast corner of Green and Stokes Streets (noticeable for its turret). It is thought that the Burns family may have used this comparatively modest home for one or some of their servants.

Norris and Edith Burns sold this property in 1925 to Theodore C. Watson (1867-1934) and his wife, Miriam. The widowed Miriam sold the home in 1936 to Jacob E. “Jake” Hecht (1914-1984), the nephew of Isaac Hecht who had owned and run the Hecht Hotel at 667 Green Street. Jake Hecht also was the son of Emanuel and Fannie Hecht (of 556 Green Street) who had opened Hecht’s Hardware store on North Washington Street. Jake ran the hardware store for several years during the 1950s and 1960s, helped by his sister, Hannah Hecht.

In 1951, Jake Hecht and his wife, Gladys, sold this home to Ralph T. and Muriel J. Harvey, who owned it for about four years before selling it to John R. and Linda Chew. After Linda’s death in 1962, WWII veteran John Chew sold it to William T. and Beverly R. Pelton. A few more owners followed, including the First National Bank & Trust and a mortgage attorney, until 1967 when this home was bought by Cornelius J. Smith (1918-2003) and his wife, Helen C. Smith. Cornelius (a WWII Army veteran) and Helen Smith were real estate investors who owned and lived at this same time in one of the most historic houses in the city (300 North Union Avenue). They had three children, Joan Elaine Powell, Ann Williams, and Cornelius J. Smith, Jr. Their son was a graduate of the 1965 class of the Havre de Grace Consolidated School, the last class to graduate from that Oakington Road school.

Almost 20 years later, in 1986, the Smiths sold this home to Cecil F. Hill, Jr. and Stephen L. Hutchins, who also were in the real estate business; within a year they sold it to Blane H. Miller, Jr. (1951-2007) and his wife Arlene. Blane was associated with the Montville Taxi Company of Havre de Grace and they later moved to Aberdeen after selling this home to August R. Reichert III in 1991. August was an artist and cabinet maker by trade who later became known as a furniture artist in the millwork industry.

In March 1994, August Reichert sold this home to Camay Calloway Murphy, the wife of John H. Murphy III (1916-2010), publisher and board chairman of the family-owned Afro-American Newspapers based in Baltimore where they lived. They had married in 1980, a year after John’s first wife died.

Camay was born in New York in 1927 to the famed entertainer and legendary jazz musician Cabell “Cab” Calloway III (1907-1994) and Zelma Proctor. Growing up Camay spent time in both New York and Baltimore, married Booker T. Brooks, and had two boys, Christopher Calloway Brooks and Peter Cabell Brookes. Camay, an educator all of her life and one of the first African-Americans to teach in a predominantly white school in Virginia, has received many leadership and service awards and honors throughout her life.

In late 1993 while returning by train to Baltimore with her second husband, John, Camay noticed out the window a quaint little town with boats floating on the water, and small houses along the water’s edge, and asked John whether he knew the name of the town. He did, and told her of summer visits there in his youth, where family friends owned a house on Pennington Avenue. Intrigued by her husband’s stories and charmed by her glimpse of the town, Camay suggested they visit it. They did, she fell in love with the town, and before long Camay was on the phone with a realtor friend. That, some cajoling of her husband, and Camay’s persistence that it had potential, was all it took for them to buy this home in March 1994. Having previously been a rental property, it needed some renovations and “fixing up,” which was achieved with the help of a friend. They continued to maintain their home in Baltimore and divided their time between that and this home, especially in summertime. In October 2010, John Murphy died at the age of 94.

Camay Murphy now spends most of her time in Havre de Grace where she has become an active leader in the local community. Not a person to settle into a quiet relaxed life, Camay’s most recent accomplishment was the June 2021 unveiling of a new statue of Havre de Grace native and Negro League baseball player Ernest Burke in the local Tydings Park. She worked tirelessly on her goal, spearheaded the committee that raised funds, and selected the Chicago artist, Austen Brantley, to create the statue. Camay enjoys frequent visits from family members but is never without a new goal percolating in her mind.

County Records
Built 1900. 1516 sq ft, 2 stories with basement, 1.5 baths, 3000 sq ft lot.