The lots on which this house was built were sold in 1841 by Henry Barnes (1792-1858) to Lawrence McCabe, a railroad contractor, who built this house on the northwest corner of Hopper Lane and North Stokes Street, facing east. Henry was a veteran of the War of 1812 who had bought and sold other properties in town, including the one on the opposite side of the street. Five years later, Henry Barnes sold another lot “adjoining the previous lots and premises now occupied by Lawrence McCabe” to Lawrence B. McCabe and his wife, Rosanna McFeeley McCabe. They were Irish immigrants from County Monaghan, who had one daughter and two sons. When Lawrence died in 1850, his youngest son, also Lawrence B. McCabe, was only three years old. The widowed Rosanna raised the children in this home and lived here for the rest of her life, which ended in 1891 at 63 years of age.

The McCabes’ youngest son, Colonel Lawrence B. McCabe (1847-1922) became known as one of the leading railroad, bridge and tunnel builders of his time—one of his accomplishments was building the North Avenue Bridge in Baltimore, said to be one of the largest and substantial of its kind in the U.S. then. He also was elected in 1890 to the Maryland Legislature.

After his mother’s death, Colonel McCabe and his wife, Mary, of Baltimore County sold this property in 1894 to Abram Prizer McCombs (1824-1916) and his wife Maria. Most likely it was an investment for McCombs because he sold it the following year to Wesley M. Oler, who became President of Citizens National Bank of Baltimore in 1901. In 1902, the Olers sold the home to James H. Fahey (1862-1931), who owned the Fahey Hotel on North Washington Street. Fahey sold it in 1913 to Lillian M. and Richard Long but after a mortgage default, and death of Richard, it was sold to Lillian Long individually in 1915. The Longs were invested in other properties and Lillian, who had moved to Baltimore, owned this until 1919 when she sold it to Emma Christy. After another default, this property was bought at auction by Annie H. and Frederick Cobourn who sold the property to Angelo DiPaolo (1892-1974) and Annie DiPaolo (1895-1973) in 1923.

The Di Paolos divided the building into rental units, while living with their three children in one of them. After Philomena “Minnie” Di Paolo married John “Willie” Williams, they operated a sub shop on the first floor in the 1960s and early 1970s. Daniel Barnes says they had a cheese steak that “nobody in this area comes even close to.” That was quite a compliment because there were two Cianelli sub shops not far away. Brenda Baker remembers playing the pinball machine at Willie’s where the high score for the week would win you a free sub! After the sub shop closed, Joseph Glenn Fallon, Sr. who lived in the building said the owners had to tear out the floor and walls to cleanse it from the cheese steak smell! The space later became an apartment where Jay Narvell and his wife lived for about a year.

Annie Di Paolo predeceased her husband by one year, and Angelo died in 1974, leaving the property to their daughters, Philomena Lena Williams, Mary Frances Steele, and Rose Lucy Cisick. The daughters sold the home to Arvid and Donna Scherpf in 1975, who turned the home back into a single family home. They owned the nearby Havre de Grace Marina on Water Street and their son, David Jeffery Oluf Scherpf and his wife, bought the home across the street from them in 1987. Also in 1987, Arvid and Donna Scherpf sold this home to Blane H. Miller, Jr. and Arlene V. Miller of Aberdeen.

In 1992, an assignee for the National Bank of Rising Sun sold the home to Rebecca R. Riston. She held it for just two years before selling it to McKinley E. Williams (1948-2002). After his death, the court appointed a personal representative of his Estate who sold this property to Kitchens By Request, Inc., under its President, Lance S. Arnold, in 2004.

Since then, Kitchens by Request has divided this large home into three attractive one-bedroom apartments with separate entrances, exposed wood beams (said to be reclaimed from old ships), hardwood floors, up-to-date kitchens, and laundry facilities in units. The property received an award from the Havre de Grace Historic Preservation Commission in 2014 and it remains as a well-maintained building.

County Records
Built 1900. 2375 sq ft, 2.5 stories, no basement, brick, 3 baths, 2820 sq ft lot.