This was originally a privately owned home on the southwest corner of South Washington and Revolution Streets that may have survived the devastation of the town in the War of 1812, but not the need for a parking lot for Harford Memorial Hospital later. The land of this house began at the corner of the south side of Revolution and west side of South Washington Streets and the house faced Washington Street.

This large historical home was owned by a prominent local lawyer A.W. Bateman who in 1866 sold it to Charles Gerting (1840-1892). Bateman was also the Editor of The Aegis & Intelligencer in the 1860s, published by Bateman & Baker of Bel Air at that time. Frederick W. Baker served as Editor later.

Charles Gerting was married to Laura Gerting who predeceased him at the age of only 31 years; they had one daughter, Minnie E. Gerting. When Charles died at the age of 52, he left a written Will in which he left his valuable estate in a trust to be administered by his brother, William Gerting, for Minnie when she reached the age of 25 years. Sadly, it was misplaced trust because when Charles died, his brother William put the house in his own name and then sold it, along with other items left by Charles for Minnie. But Minnie knew the contents of the Will and filed in court in 1899 asking the court to administer the Will. After much litigation, the court in 1905 ruled in her favor and this house and some of the other items became hers.

Minnie Gerting had married Edward C. Wells (born 1870) in the Havre de Grace Methodist Church in 1897. This house had been deeded in the name of Minnie’s Uncle William Gerting but in the early 1900s Minnie and Edward gained ownership. Edward Wells was a merchant with a sporting goods store (guns, ammunition, and cutlery) in the 100 block of North Washington Street in the early part of the century. In 1919, Minnie added her husband’s name to the deed and they lived here for several years.

During the Depression years, the Wells must have been stretched financially because they secured a mortgage in 1935 with the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation. A couple of years later a mortgage trustee sold this home at a public sale to the local Dr. Franklin Henry “Frank” Wolbert (1904-1967). The following year, Dr. Wolbert also purchased at a public sale the Seneca Mansion on Union Avenue, said to have been the largest private residence in Havre de Grace. Wolbert made the Seneca Mansion his home and this was an investment property for him. This property containing the historic home was the east side of Lot 315 and according to former neighbors, rooms in the house were rented to nursing students at the hospital.

In 1954, Dr. Wolbert sold this property to the Harford County Commissioners. They continued to own it through the time of the MIHP Inventory referenced above in 1977. They turned the home into the School of Practical Nursing, with offices and classrooms and the caretakers were Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, whose first names are not now known. The historic property was eventually demolished and is now used as a parking lot for Harford Memorial Hospital.