In 1885, Abraham P. McCombs (1824-1916) and Mary C. McCombs conveyed two lots of land here to their son, William Siward McCombs and his wife, R. Elizabeth McCombs. Abraham McCombs was the owner of the Havre de Grace Iron Works, the Havre de Grace Republican newspaper, and president of the First National Bank of Havre de Grace. In 1891 William purchased an adjoining lot from Lydia K. Donnelly (who had acquired it from Amos Spencer, 1816-1899). The parcel of land extended around the southwest corner of Fountain Street and Union Avenue.

It appears that William S. McCombs (1850-1928) built this home on the northerly side of the three lots prior to 1916 (this address is listed in a 1916 telephone directory as the residence of W.S. McCombs). In 1918, William and his wife sold the entire property to Arthur G. Deibert (1881-1963) and Mabel Deibert, prominent residents of Elkton, Maryland; Arthur was an officer in the Elkton Development Company.

In 1922, the Deiberts divided the property and in 1922 they sold the southerly half of the property (fronting on Union Avenue) to William Melvin and it is thought that they sold this corner property to George T. Pennington (1871-1947), who worked for his family’s funeral business. Unfortunately Harford County records do not reference the exact location of deeds filed between 1922 and 1940 for this property so the names of owners in that timeframe are not currently known.

What is known is that in July 1940 Florine Pratt, the widow of Frank G. Pratt, who lived in Elkton, Maryland, conveyed this property to her daughter, Hetty Pratt Gambrill, who was the second wife of Bertrand E. Gambrill (1884-1956). The Gambrills sold this property in 1945 to Edward and Margaret H. Watts. They lived here together for several years until the death of Edward Watts in 1962. Margaret continued to make this her home until 1976, after which her estate sold the property to Maitland R. Granath and Jose A. Granath, his wife.

In September 1979, the Granaths conveyed this property to Maitland R. Granath individually who continued to own this property for about 11 more years when he sold it to Jerome K. “Jerry” Hansen and Harriet K. Hansen in 1990. The Hansens worked in real estate and Jerry was the manager of Century 21—The Atlantic Agency; Harriet worked with her husband to convert the building for the business on the first floor with an apartment on the second floor. In 1992, the Hansens opened this building to the Havre de Grace Annual Candlelight Tour. The tour brochure commented that a very satisfactory blend of office and residential use was achieved in the remodeling of this house. Some original lighting fixtures and bulls’ eye decoration in door frames were distinct. A settlement-conference room with an offset sunroom area made the first floor bright and airy and each of the offices on the first floor had its own accent. The second floor was a rental apartment.

By 1994, W. Robert Wilson, also of Century 21, operated The Atlantic Agency here. Two years later, the Hansens signed a land installment contract with Eugene J. Boyd (1923-2014) and his wife, Genevieve L. Boyd, making the four of them the owners, with offices. In 2002, the Hansens and the Boyds sold the entire property to Linda C. Hughes.

Linda Hughes was Principal at Prudential Ward & Hughes, a realty company located here from 2002 until 2009, when she sold the property to George G. Wagstaff and Deborah K. Boyd, his wife. George and Deborah lived here for approximately 12 years during which they made many updates to the property without sacrificing its Victorian charm. They maintained the inlaid wood floors and distinctive molding throughout and completely renovated the open kitchen.

In May 2021, George and Deborah sold this property to Vincent W. and Anna C. Maling who have made their home here.

County Records
Built 1935. 3739 sq ft, 2.5 stories with basement, 3 baths, attached garage, 4500 sq ft lot.