One of the early owners of the land upon which this and other nearby houses were later built was Stephen J. Seneca and his wife. They built the Seneca Mansion at 200 North Union Avenue and owned considerable property in Havre de Grace, including the land on the north side of Warren Street from Juniata to Adams Streets. He is better remembered, however, for owning and operating the Seneca Canning Company, until his death in 1918.

Seneca sold this property in 1905 to Manor Real Estate Trust Company of Pennsylvania and records indicate that Manor Real Estate sold the property from Juniata to North Adams Streets in 1924 to Joseph Henry Wileman and his wife, Lillie Kate. Joseph Wileman worked for the Standard Lime and Stone Company and he and Lillie also ran “Uncle Joe’s” corner grocery store in the early 1900s at the nearby 800 North Juniata Street. He also served as Bailiff of the City from 1914-1916.

This house is believed to have been built with a Sears Roebuck Home Kit. A standard Sears Modern Home Kit contained around 25 tons of materials, more than 30,000 parts, 750 lbs of nails, along with a 75-page instruction book that were shipped directly to the purchaser (often by rail). The 370 different designs were only offered in Sears mail order catalogs between 1908 and 1940. Sears houses built after 1916 have stamped lumber elements that can be found in attics or basements. Pictures of some models are listed online at: http://arts-crafts.com/archive/sears, but many have since been modified.

The Wilemans sold this row of houses individually over time. They sold this one in 1927 to Larry and Georgianna Baker and it was enjoyed by the Baker-Chatham family for the next 82 years. After the death of Georgianna Baker in 1976, Larry sold it to their daughter, Thelma Chatham and her husband. Their son, Larry R. Chatham and his wife, Linda, became the owners in 1978 and they lived here until 2009 when they sold it to Brady Butler and Meghan Hotchkiss, prior to moving out of town. At some point in the earlier history of the house, Georgianna and Larry converted the basement into a self-contained apartment, which was rented out to Orean Freeman Lyle during WWII and other workers at the railroad station.

For many years Warren Street was a very busy place with the houses facing directly at the north side of the Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington Railroad Station, which opened in 1906. Passengers travelling by train to or from work used this station. There were tunnels through the embankment that led to the opposite side and to stairs leading up to the platforms.

After the closing of The Graw in 1950, and increased use of automobiles, it was of no surprise that the Pennsylvania Railroad announced in October 1967 plans to close the station. The Baltimore Sun, in making the announcement, described a sad scene: “The strangely isolated station house, about four blocks from the unhurried downtown, its exterior splashed with graffiti and its broken window boarded up, was little more than a roost for pigeons and an out-of-the-way place for a lonely man to swill a bottle and reminisce.” The station was burned by arsonists in late 1968 and the tunnels closed off, although they remain.

The city is delighted that a local artist, a Havre de Grace High School graduate, Shawn Forton, has beautified the remains of the station foundation with a colorful Maryland mural, in full view of these houses on Warren Street.

In 2018, Brady Butler and Meghan Hotchkiss sold this home to Ryan T. Jones and Rachel Jones, his wife.

County Records
Built 1935. 1552 sq ft, 1.5 stories with basement, 2 baths, 5180 sq ft lot.