In 1933, eleven lots of ground on Water Street were sold by Constance Hall (1862-1938), the only heir of Josephine and Edward Hall (1830-1908), who owned a canal supply business and livery stable at the Canal Basin. Edward Hall had acquired the lots in a series of transactions between 1866 and 1879 from Charles B. Hitchcock, William R. Blackwell, Matthew Cameron, Lewis Williams, James Tisdale, and the final one from Mary E. Burr. The parcel of land fronted 125 feet on the west side of Water Street and reached back along the southerly side of Carbon Street to Pearl Street.

The 1933 purchaser of these three lots on the west side of Water Street was The Marconi Independent Club, Inc., which was formed in 1932 in Havre de Grace by 42 local Italian charter members for the purpose of encouraging better citizenship and creating a better understanding between them and the American people. Elected officers were: President, J.C. “Jimmy” Vancheri; Vice-President, Giovanni “John” Linordelli; and Secretary-Treasurer, Gerardo Gatto.

In 1938 a notice appeared in The Advertiser that “the boys of the uptown section have organized a new athletic club for boxing called the Marconi Athletic Club.” They had 15 fighters in training then. Joseph Bernardi was the trainer; at one time he was one of the city’s best amateur boxers. The building was donated to the club by the senior members of the Marconi Independent Club.

The Club (under a new President, Eugene Vigna) sold the property in 1936 to Michael G. Boyd (1897-1956), an Army veteran of WWI, and son of Michael P. Boyd, Sr., a local contractor. In 1943, however, Michael Boyd sold this to William F. Blansfield (1906-1985) and his wife, Mildred Blansfield, who became parents of Jean Marie Blansfield that same year. William was a WWII veteran and they later had two more children. They lived here for many years, through the death of Mildred in 1973, and William’s death in 1985. Jean Marie Blansfield inherited the property in 1986 but after her 1992 early death her estate sold it in 1993. The Blansfield family owned this house for about 50 years.

New owners from 1993 until 2019 were Leonard Ellwood Ferguson, Jr. and his wife, Vicki L. Ferguson, who ran their electrical contracting business from here. Leonard was the son of Leonard Ellwood Ferguson, Sr. (1929-2014) who was President of the Ferguson Electric Company for 66 years and owned the Harford Detective Agency, Inc. Leonard’s mother was Eleanor McLhinney Ferguson, the sister of Charles, Jack, and Francis McLhinney of the former McLhinney News Depot on North Washington Street.

Since 2019 this building has been owned by Ronald E. Holthaus, Jr. and Karen J. Holthaus for whom it is an investment property.

County Records
Built 1900. 1428 sq ft, 2.5 stories, no basement, 1 bath, 5000 sq ft lot.