It appears from old photographs that the house on this northwestern corner of South Washington and Bourbon Streets had two distinct two-story sections to it; one faced Washington Street and a much older one (the original house) faced Bourbon Street. An old photo included here shows both sections. The oldest deed found shows that the property (extending 60 feet north on Washington Street from the corner and 200 feet west on Bourbon Street to Lodge Lane) was sold by Charles L. Gerting (1840-1892) in 1863 to Captain John A. Myers (1827-1888) of Havre de Grace, who it is assumed made his home here. About 10 years after that, the Captain had his schooner “Maggie” rebuilt during the winter of 1872 and with his family launched it from the Marine Railway yard.

The Captain was a descendant of the well-known Johan Nicholas Suter (Sutor) of Havre de Grace. This property passed to the Captain’s two adult daughters, Elva Y. Mervin and Kate E. Weber. In 1904 the daughters and their spouses sold this property to James H. Fahey (1862-1931), a local attorney and owner of the Fahey Hotel on North Washington Street.

About six years later, in 1910, James Fahey and his wife, Mary, sold this large property Elizabeth D. Ballenger. It is likely that this was an investment property for Elizabeth who rented the property to others. Upon the death of Elizabeth, Verna Ballenger Thompson (Elizabeth’s daughter), who lived in New Jersey, inherited the property in 1934 and continued to rent the home to others for many years.

Local native Cindy Height says her great-grandparents, Joseph Frank Crawford (1861-1932) and his wife, Laura V. Crawford (1867-1938), made their home here. Laura’s parents were Annie Cornell McEwing and Levanion “Levi” McEwing (1839-1903); he was the last living telegraph lineman for the Civil War. Levanion’s obituary in The Telegraph Age, Volume 20, 1903, described him as a “well-known Western Union lineman” who identified with the U.S. Military Telegraph Corps when he died on February 3. Annie lived just six more years. The Crawfords had two sons, Charles and Lawrence Crawford, and twin daughters, Anna L. Ervin (1898-1937 and married to Wilbur S. Ervin) and Verna Atkinson (married to Charles Atkinson). Charles “Buck” Crawford (1899-1965) was a duck decoy carver whose work was influenced by Bob McGaw as well as R. Madison Mitchell, for whom he worked. Buck also loved gardening and Cindy remembers that the land between this house and Lodge Lane was “Uncle Buck’s garden.” It’s interesting to observe that some of these family members who lived together are also buried together in Angel Hill Cemetery in Havre de Grace.

Cindy Height also remembers a time when her father (Wilbur Ervin) had the opportunity to buy the whole “200-year-old property” but didn’t do so due to the amount of work that the house needed. She has fond memories of being there as a child and was told stories about people hiding out there during the Underground Railroad days. Cheryl Ervin Holcomb Swehla also was a granddaughter of Anna Crawford Ervin and remembers the original house fondly. Cheryl’s mother was Virginia Ervin Holcomb.

Verna Ballenger Thompson, living in Salem, New Jersey, and then widowed, sold part of this property (including the house) in December 1968 to Frank S. Maslin, Jr. (1908-1994) and his wife, Elsie C. Maslin. Frank was the Executive Vice President of the First National Bank & Trust Company. Randy Weber remembers the Maslins living in this home and says that his Dad worked for Frank Maslin at the bank. Verna Thompson sold the remainder of Lot 213 (Uncle Buck’s garden on the north side of Bourbon Street that ran west to Lodge Lane) to Dr. Gunther D. Hirsch (1925-2015) and his architect wife, Poldi Hirsch. To this day, more than 50 years later, that grassy lot (the west 130 feet of Lot 213, Square 251) remains unimproved.

Frank and Elsie Maslin were owners of other properties in Havre de Grace and Frank’s sister, Helen Mitchell, was married to the famous duck decoy carver, R. Madison Mitchell, both of whom lived across Washington Street from this property. The Maslins completely redesigned and rebuilt this house, fronting 60 feet on Washington Street and extending westward 70 feet on Bourbon Street. They demolished the original house and made an addition in its place with the uniquely arched porches we see today. In July 1978, the Maslins sold this corner property to Lee G. Capraro and her dentist husband, Dr. Thomas A. Capraro. However, within less than a year they moved to Georgia and sold this to Joseph and Lorena Guzman.

The Guzmans kindly opened their home to the 1982 Annual Candlelight Tour. Visitors saw a lighted pharmaceutical cabinet containing a collection of Flow Blue china as they entered the Victorian living room that was lit with a pear-shaped chandelier. A gas fireplace was located in a corner of the dining room, which had a window saved from a demolished local bank. The master bedroom was distinctive for its small sitting room with vanity and storage drawers, also retrieved from the same bank. At the rear of the home was a patio bordered by a white picket fence separating the open lot from the house. A number of people remember Joe Guzman, including Aaron Willis who says Joe played baseball with them in the grassy lot behind this house, and Dave Asher says Joe taught him to swim and dive. After the death of Lorena Guzman in 2003, Joseph Guzman sold this home to Sean J. and Margaret Haynes. When they moved out of town in 2005, the new owners were William and Sarah Roth for three years.

Since 2008, this property has been owned by 126 Washington, LLC, and houses offices for attorneys Coon & Cole, LLC, and Steppingstone Realty, Inc. Curtis Charles Coon is the Managing Member for the company for whom David Cole works. In 2016 an exterior wooden staircase was added to the north side of this building to provide access to the second floor, which is now a self-contained rental apartment.

County Records
Built 1958. 2510 sq ft, 2 stories, no basement, 3 baths, 4200 sq ft lot.