At this location on the Old Post Road (as Union Avenue was previously known) in the early 1800s was the Brick Tap Room, a stopping place for stage coaches running between Philadelphia and Baltimore. The first coaches had begun travelling this road in 1781 and the journey was so treacherous, through swamps and forests, that it was said some people wrote their wills before embarking on the trip. Three coaches ran each way daily in 1812 carrying passengers, one with U.S. mail, and each drawn by six horses. The building was burned during the War of 1812 (May 1913) by the British but some of the bricks are said to have been used later to construct the original portion of The Harford House at Union Avenue and St. John Street.

This property sits on a large lot at the southeast corner of Union Avenue and Girard Street, running east to Lodge Alley. The property was bought by Robert K. Vanneman (1853-1912) in 1891. He had come to Havre de Grace in 1883 from Cecil County, became Cashier for the First National Bank, and was elected Mayor from 1895 to 1901.

In 1905 Vanneman sold the land and the old building on it to Leila Whitaker (1855-1914), Grace Whitaker (1848-1921), and Ellen Whitaker (1846-1927). They were the adult daughters of William P.C. Whitaker (1813-1888) and his wife, Mary Ramsay Whitaker. A fourth daughter, Charlotte, had married Isaac Pennypacker and lived in Philadelphia. William P.C. Whitaker (who served in the Union Army during the Civil War) was the eldest son of Joseph Whitaker, who in 1845 helped to build the Havre de Grace Iron Works at the foot of Bourbon Street.

It is assumed that the Whitaker sisters built this home shortly after their 1905 purchase of the property and it is known that in 1913, Isaac and Charlotte Whitaker Pennypacker visited the Whitaker sisters in the home here. After the deaths of the Whitaker sisters (the last being 1927), the property was sold by a Pennypacker family trustee to G. Howlett and Eleanor W. Cobourn in 1939. Within a year, however, the Cobourns sold it to Adolph T. Baynes (1904-1887) and his wife, Isabella. It is assumed that it was the Baynes who converted the home to apartments around 1940, since they owned other rental properties in the city and lived in a waterfront home on South Adams Street. They sold the property in 1971 to James B. Owen, Jr. who operated and owned the local Owen Realty Company, and owned this rental building for about 30 years.

The Owens sold the property in August 2013 to Duane and Kathryn Brink, who undertook an extensive interior and exterior renovation that lasted about two years. As well as redesigning this as a large single family home, they relandscaped the property surrounding the home, demolished an old garage in the rear and replaced it with a large four-car detached garage, constructed a large multi-level rear deck, and rebuilt the front porch and steps. The Brinks continue to live in this large home.

County Records
Built 1910. 4574 sq ft, 2.5 stories, 5 baths, basement, detached garage, 12,000 sq ft lot.