The land here at the northwest corner of Commerce Street and Union Avenue was sold by Bailiff William R. Young in 1866, at the request of the Commissioners of Havre de Grace who wished to collect taxes on all properties. This property across from City Park (now Tydings Park) was bought by Joseph M. and Mary V. Simmons in 1866. Joseph Simmons was appointed with others by the General Assembly of Maryland to the Marine Railway and Manufacturing Company of Havre de Grace in 1868. In 1891 they sold the land to Robert K. Vanneman (1853-1912). He had come to the city in 1883 to become the cashier of the First National Bank. By 1913, however, in a property dispute court trustees sold this land to Robert G. Gambrill and his wife, Mary Gambrill, who had come to the city in 1899.

The Gambrills had opened and owned the Gambrill & Melville Mills on Fountain Street and soon after that bought and sold several parcels of land. In 1922, they sold this particular lot to Henry B. and Angie W. Courtney, who had the same year bought the lot of land directly north of this. The Courtneys sold this land ten years later to E. Walter Hall (1877-1934) and Florence B. Hall.

After the death of Walter just two years later, Florence Hall sold the property to her sister, M. Lareine Pennington (1871-1946) in 1936. M. Lareine Pennington was the widow of Dr. Lee R. Pennington (1864-1930), a dentist, with whom she had seven children including Lareine Pennington Conner, who married James K. Conner. Lareine and James’s granddaughter (Colleen Conner Kolakowski) says that M. Lareine Pennington built this home in 1936. Colleen added that the builders of the home had difficulty putting in the foundation due to the condition of the soil—they had to add additional supports for the basement walls. Another child of M. Lareine and Dr. Lee Pennington was James Norman Pennington (1899-1941) who served in France during WWI and died at 42 years of age, the funeral taking place here at the house. Another son was Walter Carleton “Carl” Pennington (1902-1979). Carl married Dorothy Reed Pennington in 1921 and they had a daughter, Ann Pennington in 1923; however, Dorothy died in 1927 unexpectedly. In 1940, Carl Pennington got married a second time to Iva Jane Pennington.

In 1955, the surviving heirs of Lareine Pennington sold this home to Carl and Iva Jane Pennington and they made this their home until the death of Iva Jane in 1973. Just seven years later, Carl Pennington died and left his estate to his daughter, Anne Pennington Efnor. She had married Sam Efnor and both had moved to Salt Lake City just before the death of her father. Anne still lives in Salt Lake City.

In 1980, Anne Efnor sold this property Rondall Ramey (1947-2018) and Sherry Lynn Ramey, who had three children. Rondall was a Vietnam veteran who worked at the Aberdeen Proving Ground for 30 years before retiring and relocating to Pennsylvania. This property across the street from Tydings Park and the Havre de Grace Marina has now been owned by Sherry Lynn Ramey for about 40+ years but it is not her principal residence.

County Records
Built 1932. 1590 sq ft, 1.5 stories with basement, 2 baths, attached garage, 4500 sq ft lot.